How Companies Grow

Read this on the web.

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Yesterday, I sat down with Ramzi Yakob from Howden for this unique, deep-dive look at how companies grow.?

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Ramzi's hypothesis is that there are only three ways that companies can grow, and in this episode, we unpacked this hypothesis, stress-tested it and looked at concrete examples.?

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Key takeaways:

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• There are three ways companies can grow: increasing usage, increasing value derived from each instance of use, and increasing utility by serving new needs.
• Money and data are crucial for sustained growth, as they enable investment in innovation and provide insights into customer needs.
• Efficiency and cost cutting alone cannot drive growth; investment in innovation and new ventures is necessary.
• Traditional companies often struggle to make products and services that are useful and used due to their focus on their core business and lack of innovation capabilities.
• To achieve sustainable growth, companies need to design their organisation and operations to be adaptable and innovative. Product development can be more rewarding as it allows for a feedback loop and serving people in the present.

Here's what we covered:?

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00:00 Ramzi's Background and Career Journey

04:11 The Three Ways Companies Can Grow

08:33 Rebalancing Time and Resources for Growth

09:03 The Three Ways Companies Can Grow (Continued)

17:55 The Importance of Money and Data in Growth

23:03 Increasing Value Derived from Each Instance of Use

25:27 Increasing Utility by Serving New Needs

32:26 Decoupling Growth from Production Volume

35:15 Leveraging Underutilised or Emerging Assets

36:43 Targeting New Customer Segments

46:02 The Challenges Faced by Traditional Companies

49:24 The Focus on cost-cutting

52:47 Revisiting the Model

53:45 Transition to Product Development

54:14 Serving People and Feedback Loop

54:42 Preference for Immediate Impact

PS. If you're looking for support in focussing your innovation strategy to pave the way for breakthrough growth, contact the Future Foundry team here.