Jumping the S-Curve: How to Beat the Growth Cycle, Get on Top, and Stay There

Description

Recently, some bestselling management books have focused on providing a recipe for greatness, while others have sought to unlock the secrets of long-term success. But a detailed analysis at the intersection of the two, one that explains how some companies manage to achieve repeated peaks of business performance, has been missing--until now. Accenture's Paul Nunes and Tim Breene have found that what matters is not just climbing your current S-curve, which is what you do to reach the top of a single successful business. Instead, they emphasize the equal importance of the moves you must make on the way to your next business; that is, making the jump to your future S-curve. Jumping the S-Curve reveals crucial insights for making such transitions, including: Why traditional strategic planning won't allow you to find the "big-enough" market insights that are critical to superior performance Why your top team must be refreshed before performance starts to wane Why you need much more talent than you think, especially "serious talent" that will find you worthy of their time Filled with original practical advice, Jumping the S-Curve demystifies how companies can thrive with one successful business after another, through both good times and bad.

Paul Nunes is the Executive Director of Research and an executive research fellow in the Accenture Institute for High Performance Business. He is the coauthor the award-winning book Mass Affluence and numerous articles. Tim Breene is Accenture's former Chief Strategy and Development Officer and current head of the company's digital marketing initiative. Breene and Nunes coauthored the Harvard Business Review article The Chief Strategy Officer."

"Jumping the S-Curve presents a nice overview of top performing companies and reminds product development practitioners of the keys to success in marketing, technology, and teams. Especially recommended for senior management who are currently riding the S-curve of financial growth, this book can help firms plan for a more innovative future." -- Journal of Product Innovation Management "... For organizations of all types and sizes that face the challenge of sustaining growth and relevance and avoiding stagnation, this accessible book offers an invaluable guide. Supported by research data, illustrated with numerous case studies, and infused with powerful personal insights it is highly recommended..." -- IEDP.com (International Executive Development Programs) "... The book spectacularly trashes many management myths, from the over-dependence on scale as a means to growth to choosing between high growth and high profit to even that old bromide about delayed gratification after years of effort. Stimulating and full of practical advice and cases, Jumping the S-Curve, should be mandatory reading for all business executives. My recommendation: Get a copy for yourself and present one to your CEO..." -- CIO India "...This is an excellent training manual for leaders of both large and small companies..." -- Fort Worth Star Telegram "Jumping the S-Curve addresses all the challenges corporations face in sustaining a growth trajectory. It provides a comprehensive toolkit to help you keep your business from stagnating." -- Tom Stemberg, Managing General Partner, Highland Consumer Fund, and Chairman Emeritus and Founder of Staples, Inc. "The cycle of a winning business idea powering a business to dominate its peers followed by peaking as the model is eroded by a new idea appears near universal. The book analyzes thoroughly, with numerous examples from Accenture research, how great companies have replicated their performance over multiple cycles, replacing themselves rather than being replaced by others." -- Mark Moody-Stuart, former Chairman, Anglo American plc "The book debunks many management myths, most notably the obsession with scale as panacea for sustainable growth. Instead, it urges companies to jump from one growth curve to another for sustained value creation... Practical, granular, stimulating, and replete with real cases of high performers." -- R. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons "Few books do for managers what Jumping the S-Curve does: it provides a data-driven and context-rich analysis of what high-performing companies do to stay high performers even as their markets inevitably change, new capabilities are required, and profitable growth remains important." -- Frank V. Cespedes, senior lecturer, Harvard Business School "Whether the practice is in government, private, or nonprofit, the principles remain the same. These are powerful ideas based on research and informed, reflective thinking supported by data and personal insights. Jumping the S-Curve is a very important book for leaders committed to operating on the cutting edge of excellence. A good book." -- Gordon R. Sullivan, General, U.S. Army (retired), and former Chief of Staff, U.S. Army "This book provides organizations ways and means to stay ahead. It lends insight into the various stages of business growth and the actions that need be taken at various stages to remain on top. The authors conclude that high performance is about outperforming rivals again and again, even as the basis of competition in an industry or market changes. These will be possible only if an organization keeps a tab on understanding the hidden S-curves namely of competition, capability and talent, while avoiding knee-jerk reactions like retrenchment and belt tightening, which erode the chance for a recovery." -- Vinod Sivarama Krishnan, CIO-Global of Jubiliant Life Sciences