The Momentum Effect: How to Ignite Exceptional Growth (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: vibrant satisfaction, transaction myopia, customer myopia, The Momentum Effect, First Direct, Momentum Leaders (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Momentum does offer a big unifying theory... Read and enjoy this book." - Financial Times, May 2008 "Larreche's research throws new light on age-old debates about marketing budgets and marketing effectiveness" - Marketing Week May 2008 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

One of the most frequent challenges that managers and executives face today is: How do I keep on growing and at the same time, make a profit?' Based on the author's extensive research on over 350 Fortune 1000 Firms, The Momentum Effect proves that the old method of spending big on marketing and slashing the manufacturing costs doesn't work anymore. Instead, it provides new evidence to show that in order to achieve profitable growth you have to create new value for customers through innovation, ingenuity and most importantly by seeing things from a customer perspective. This strategy generates a positive, reinforcing momentum which leads to further growth. Why limit your business growth? With Momentum, you won't have to. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wharton School Publishing; 1 edition (April 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132363429
• ISBN-13: 978-0132363426
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #485,870 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for the real world, April 7, 2008

By	Pardo (Kent) - See all my reviews

This is one of the most powerful and exciting books I've read in years. I've been following Larreche's work for about ten years now, since I came across some reports he did for the FT. A few years ago I also got a chance to see him speak. The guy is great and I've been waiting for this book ever since - especially as, unlike some other management guru/professors/authors he also has experience of the real world (he was on the board of a FTSE 100 company for a long time).

It doesn't disappoint.

The process he sets out is simple but it is also very powerful - and it also makes sense. He starts by challenging the assumption that increasing marketing spend is the best way to deliver growth. He argues that this is often just a way of buying growth that your products aren't good enough to earn. Instead, he says, you should develop a genuinely deep understanding of your customers that goes beyond the usual surveys and segmentation studies and gets under their skin - then use that understanding to create better products then be ambitious enough about the way you deliver the product and make sure that your customers' experience is so good they start to become engaged - this engagement will help you learn more about your customers and so the whole thing kicks off again.

It might sound simple but in practice it's not easy. However, the tools that are all through the book are a great help in putting this into practice - just one (the customer value wedge) is worth the price alone - I've already used it three times today already with members of my team.

That's just one example. Most strategy books combine a bit of research and with good stories. What really makes this book stand out is a grounded realization that the real world is a messy place where things don't always go right first time. It's brilliant.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as (maybe even better than) Blue Ocean Strategy, April 14, 2008

By	Richard Catton - See all my reviews

As good as (maybe even better than) Blue Ocean Strategy


It is worth reading this book and Kim and Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy together (the authors of both books all teach at the same school and Kim and Mauborgne have endorsed The Momentum Effect, calling it a "must read"). Personally I think The Momentum Effect is even better than BOS.

The strategy canvas in BOS is a fantastic tool and I've used it a lot but I've always had three nagging questions about the blue ocean book. First, blue oceans sound great, but if I'm stuck in a red ocean is it really true that my only hope is to find a big innovation to sail into a blue ocean? Second, if you do manage it, how do you stop your blue ocean turning red. Third, what are the fundamental mechanics and processes that underlie the creation of uncontested market space. These are three things that Larreche's book is brilliant on.

First, he points out that even in red oceans (I don't think he uses that term - he talks about "old established firms" in highly competitive markets) it is possible to generate growth through a series of small cumulative improvements rather than trying all out for a "big bang". He has an amazing graph on page 214 showing cumulative impact of a series of 1% improvements in key performance criteria. As an aside, this graph is an example of one of the differences in this book - Larreche's background was in developing marketing simulation software (eg Markstrat which I used doing my MBA) - the simulations are used sparingly but they add depth.

Second, he explicitly states that he is not offering a once through process - if you want to stay on top you have to keep working, keep improving. Lots of books "say" this but few really take it to its logical conclusion, preferring to offer a cosy "destination point" as if beating your targets this year gives you an out for not doing it next year. In the real world reaching one goal is just the jumping off point for trying to hit the next one. Larreche's process shows how constant iteration can be built into your business and how it becomes a source of strength - "momentum" comes from the feedback effect of taking each small success and building on it to make an even bigger one and so on.

But for me the real strength of the book is in the way it answers my third point. In Part II, it devotes about 80 pages to the process of designing what he calls "power offers". Part III has the same sort of space devoted to the practicalities of actually executing the strategy. This is one of the first strategy books I've read that manages to balance the grand design with the practical implementation.

In short, if you liked Blue Ocean Strategy, you'll love this - if you've always had doubts about BOS - this book might answer them.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional book!, May 5, 2008

By	Jim Kayalar, CMC (Jersey city, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

Eureka! Once in a while you come across a unique book that puts everything together for you. This book puts together the best of strategy, marketing, innovation, business development and so much more. No wonder Sir Richard Branson liked the book. The book closely emulates the genius of the man and how he grew Virgin. J.C, what a great book! I will use "The momentum effect" model for my management consulting projects. Jim Kayalar is a Certified Management Consultant(CMC) with the Institute of Management Consultants USA(IMC - USA) with 20 plus years of business experience in a myriad of industries.