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Three Principles for Managing - and Avoiding - the Problems of GrowthWhy is profitable growth so hard to achieve and sustain? Most executives manage their companies as if the solution to that problem lies in the external environment: find an attractive market, formulate the right strategy, win new customers. But when Bain & Company's Chris Zook and James Allen, authors of the bestselling Profit from the Core, researched this question, they found that when companies fail to achieve their growth targets, 90 percent of the time the root causes are internal, not external - increasing distance from the front lines, loss of accountability, proliferating processes and bureaucracy, to name only a few. What's more, companies experience a set of predictable internal crises, at predictable stages, as they grow. Even for healthy companies, these crises, if not managed properly, stifle the ability to grow further - and can actively lead to decline.The key insight from Zook and Allen's research is that managing these choke points requires a "founder's mentality" - behaviors typically embodied by a bold, ambitious founder - to restore speed, focus, and connection to customers:* An insurgent's clear mission and purpose* An unambiguous owner mindset* A relentless obsession with the front lineBased on the authors' decade-long study of companies in more than forty countries, The Founder's Mentality demonstrates the strong relationship between these three traits in companies of all kinds - not just start-ups - and their ability to sustain performance. Through rich analysis and inspiring examples, this book shows how any leader - not only a founder - can instill and leverage a founder's mentality throughout their organization and find lasting, profitable growth.
About the Author
Chris Zook is a Partner in Bain & Company's Amsterdam office and has been co-head of the Global Strategy Practice for the past 15 years. He specializes in helping companies find new sources of profitable growth.
He is the author of six books with Harvard Business Review Press in the past ten years including his most recent book, "The Founder's Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth," a Washington Post bestseller, published in June 2016 and recently listed as a top read for CEOs according to Fortune's CEO survey. He is also author of "Repeatability: Build Enduring Businesses for a World of Constant Change," published in March 2012. Among his other best-selling books are "Profit from the Core: a Return to Growth in Turbulent Times" (HBRP, January 2010) , an updated edition of his 2001 book, "Profit from the Core: Growth Strategy in an Era of Turbulence," "Unstoppable: Finding Hidden Assets to Renew the Core and Fuel Profitable Growth" (HBRP, May 2007) and "Beyond the Core: Expand your Market without Abandoning your Roots" (HBRP, November 2004) .
Chris has received accolades for his work on strategy such as:
- Times of London "Top 50 Business Thinkers,"
- FT Guide to Strategy "One of most interesting strategic thinkers working today,"
- Top 100 business books of all time award,
- FT and Economist "Books of the year" list
He's been a featured guest on renowned business broadcast outlets, including NPR, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV. He is also a frequent author in "Harvard Business Review," and other business publications.
Chris is a frequent speaker at a wide range of international and business forums including the World Economic Forum, the World Knowledge Forum, the Forbes' CEO Conference, the BusinessWeek CEO Conference, and the Economist Summit.
He received a B.A. in mathematics and economics from Williams College, an M.Phil. in economics from Exeter College, Oxford University, and earned master's and doctorate degrees from Harvard University.
He presently splits his time between homes in Amsterdam and Boston.
