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Warp-Speed Growth

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Warp-Speed Growth

Managing the Fast-Track Business Without Sacrificing Time, Money, and People

AMACOM,

15 minutes de lecture
10 points à retenir
Texte disponible

Aperçu

Running a business is like doing a puzzle: It’s a lot easier if you know what the picture you’re trying to build looks like.


Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Peter Meyer argues that running a business is like fitting together the pieces of a puzzle, a task that is made much easier if you can follow the picture on the top of the box that the puzzle came in. The box top is a central metaphor in Warp-Speed Growth representing the defining vision of what management is trying to achieve. While Meyer cites companies like Palm Computing as examples of concerns that have ridden narrowly defined box tops to success, he evidently didn’t think to create a box top of his own. The book offers up a hodgepodge of information ranging from finance to personnel management, but never quite pulls together a big picture from the individual pieces. Nevertheless, some of these pieces, like the intriguing sections on promoting managers and evaluating employees, are strong enough in their own right to warrant a close look. getAbstract.com recommends this book to executives and managers who are looking for new ways to deal with fast growth, and are willing to spend some time picking through the pile to find the piece that fits.

Summary

When Growth is a Problem

Rapid growth is the rule of thumb for many businesses today. But it’s difficult to remain sane while managing a young enterprise that’s racking up triple-digit growth. A company that’s growing too quickly is prone to ignoring details and making mistakes. What’s more, out-of-control growth makes life stressful for managers and employees, who begin to complain that their jobs aren’t fun anymore.

Every business should aim for sustainable growth, a term whose definition changes with each company. One company might find it difficult to sustain a growth rate of 10%, while another might be able to double or triple in size. Firms that grow quickly successfully plan and manage resources.

There are three types of growth: gradual, rapid and extreme growth. Gradual growth can be planned. If a business growing at this pace launches a product, the company has no trouble adding the workers it needs to support the effort. A company growing at a rapid clip faces more challenges. If a rapidly growing company launches a new product, it probably doesn’t have time to assemble a new sales force. The company will compromise, using outside sales reps or hiring...

About the Author

Peter Meyer is president of The Meyer Group, a consulting firm. He is a former IBM executive and a contributing editor to Business & Economic Review Meyer, who lives in California, frequently speaks and writes about management, technology and strategy.


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