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Growth Gamble: When Leaders Should Bet Big on New Business - and How They Can Avoid Expensive Failures

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Some senior executives are so eager for growth that they gamble their company's riches on new business initiatives that will probably fail. Researchers estimate that the failure rate for company-spawned business initiatives is as high as 99%. Authors Andrew Campbell and Robert Park tell companies to be selective about which growth opportunities they pursue - even if that means standing pat and accepting low growth. Growth, they say, is simply not possible at all times for all companies. They provide valuable tools, including a "traffic light" evaluation filter and a "confidence check" mechanism, to help you choose and execute new business endeavors. Wall Street has almost no greater profanity than "low growth," but if you take seriously your fiduciary duty to spend shareholders' dollars wisely, we think you should read this book. In the aftermath of the dot-com crash and the subsequent corporate-governance scandals, the time has come for a sober, systematic approach to growth.

Few would disagree that there's been a general acceleration in the global marketplace to which no organization is completely immune. Business book shelves are currently crammed with titles about "Speed Shifts," "Lightning Change," "Move Fast," "Adapt or Die" - but such catchphrases don't necessarily equate to solid business strategy. In Andrew Campbell's insightful book titled - "The Growth Gamble" - he argues that not all companies should strive for rapid growth. Soundview recommends this book because of its well-developed, contrarian position that "speed" is not always the economic panacea its hyped to be. Campbell explains that internal and external factors need to be considered such as: infrastructure flexibility; competitive variance and the quality of organizational talent. Once that assessment is made the organization may chart a steady or slow growth trajectory that spans years. While such a strategy may not be en vogue - neither is organizational failure. Unfortunately the economic landscape is cluttered with companies that grew too large, too quickly without rigorous analysis of growth decisions. Campbell also offers an innovative New Business Traffic Light Toolkit to aid in decision making - all of which supports the timeless moral that, "Slow and steady wins the race."