The Next Level

by James B. Wood; Larry Rothstein

• ISBN13: 9780738200194
• ISBN10: 0738200190
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-01-01
• Publisher: Perseus Books

Summary

Is your company bursting at the seams? Playing catch-up to your competitors? Trapped by "rear-view mirror" management?Most businesseswhether large or small, public or private, profit or non-profithave one thing in common: they want to grow. How can business leaders tap into the entrepreneurial spirit that launched the enterprise, and channel it into sustainable, breakthrough growth?InThe Next Level,James Wood draws on seven years of research and consulting with hundreds of companies, under the auspices ofInc.magazine and theInc.Growth Strategy Consulting Groupthe preeminent sources of information for growing companiesto present a powerful approach for business owners, managers, directors, and advisers to analyze their organization's growth potential, identify the obstacles to future growth, and implement the critical priorities and actions to ensure long-term success.Through in-depth examples of such unusual and diverse companies as Group Publishing of Loveland, Colorado; Main Street Muffins of Akron, Ohio; and Discovery Toys of Livermore, California, Wood demonstrates that every organization reaches critical transition points that require fundamental changes, in systems and processes, capabilities and resources, philosophies and goals, and even management structures and leadership. Those who are willing to look forward to new challengesnot backward to past successesare poised to take a leadership position in the marketplace.The Next Levelshows managers how to make these creative and strategic leaps. Wood presents a wide variety of strategic and tactical tools, including the Growth Strategy Analysis, a powerful, field-tested diagnostic assessment that allows you to identify your organization's relative strengths and weaknesses and determine whether you're "behind the pack," "getting by," or "one step ahead," along five key variablesmarket intelligence, strategic leadership, clarity of purpose, planning, and internal infrastructureand offers a wealth of practical guidance for mastering these critical elements.Written in the lively, hands-on, and incisive style that readers ofInc.have come to expect,The Next Levelreminds readers that they control the destiny of their organizations, by virtue of the quality of decisions they make about their companies' futures.The Next Levelwill help you make those crucial decisions that lead to sustained and profitable growth.

Author Biography

James B. Wood served with Inc. magazine from 1991 to 1998 Currently Director of Entrepreneurial Consulting Services for Ernst and Young in New England, Wood lives in Rowley, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix	(6)
Acknowledgments	xv
ONE The Growth Curve	1	(28)
AT WHAT STAGE OF GROWTH IS YOUR COMPANY? (ANALYSIS)	23	(6)
TWO Breaking Through: Managing Transition to the Next Level	29	(26)
YOUR COMPANY'S MANAGEMENT STYLE (ANALYSIS)	41	(6)
THE GROWTH STRATEGY ANALYSIS	47	(8)
THREE Market Intelligence	55	(26)
FOUR Strategic Leadership	81	(30)
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS	84	(9)
LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE ANALYSIS:
HOW "EXPOSED" ARE YOU?	93	(8)
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT	101	(10)
FIVE Clarity of Purpose	111	(28)
EXERCISE: WHAT'S YOUR STORY?	124	(13)
EAVESDROPPING EXERCISE	137	(1)
WRITING YOUR FUTURE STORY	137	(2)
SIX Strategic Planning	139	(24)
SEVEN Internal Infrastructure	163	(30)
EXERCISE: HOW ORGANIZED IS YOUR ORGANIZATION?	167	(26)
EIGHT Staying One Step Ahead	193	(24)
The Next Level Online	215	(2)
Index	217