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The Breakthrough Imperative: How the Best Managers Get Outstanding Results (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Steve Schaubert (Author)
Key Phrases: key metrics, breakthrough imperative, critical action imperatives, Morgan Crucible, United States, Burger King (more...)
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  • This item: The Breakthrough Imperative: How the Best Managers Get Outstanding Results by Mark Gottfredson

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Consulting firm Bain prides itself on—and profits from—its unique intellectual capital. Yet rarely do such firms build on the expertise and knowledge contributed by previous partners. The exception is Gottfredson and Schaubert relying on both Frederick Reichheld’s The Loyalty Effect (1996) and Chris Zook’s Profit from the Core (2004) to explain and show new leaders the how-to’s of achieving breakthrough results. The four rules behind the authors’ program seem deceptively simple: (1) costs and prices always decline, (2) competitive position determines your options, (3) customers and profit pools don’t stand still, and (4) simplicity gets results. Yet, as to be expected, charts, graphs, and some rather complicated calculations, along with a wealth of corporate data (some 1,500 companies), dominate the more detailed explanations. Corporate case histories do provide enough illustrative material to negate any mathematical mysteries. After expounding on these basics and including implications for general managers at the end of each chapter, the authors outline a road map for new leaders to follow: how to diagnose your current state, plan the end goal, and get results. --Barbara Jacobs

Review

"[Gottfredson and Schaubert] outline a road map for new leaders to follow: how to diagnose your current state, plan the end goal, and get results." -- Booklist
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 367 pages
  • Publisher: HarperBusiness (March 11, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061358142
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061358142
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #201,187 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Mark Gottfredson
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
key metrics, breakthrough imperative, critical action imperatives, innovation fulcrum, profit pool, price umbrella, distant followers, relative cost position, outside your industry, everyday changes
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Morgan Crucible, United States, Burger King, American Express, Warren Knowlton, Malaysia Airlines, American Airlines, Dow Corning, Southwest Airlines, Hal Sperlich, Farm Production, John Taylor, Harvard Business Review, Mitt Romney, Charles Schwab, General Motors, General Electric, Idris Jala, Chris Zook, George Bank, Global Services, Mayor Cicilline, Bank of America, Master Lock, Ford of Mexico
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good tools, good insight, mostly good writing, August 16, 2008
When I started reading this book it was like discovering that an old friend you hadn't seen for a while was staying at the same hotel. It made me want to catch up.

The old friend in this case was the experience curve. It was a staple of management wisdom, lo these many years ago, but no one seems to talk about it any more, even though it's a simple and powerful tool.

A good thing about this book is that the authors' aims are clear, helpful, and modest. They tell us: "Our aim is not to convey new strategies; rather it is to articulate a short list of business fundamentals that are essential to performance improvement and then show how to apply them." They do that well.

The first chapter is about the "Two Keys to Breakthrough Results." We learn about the increasing pressure on CEOs and others to deliver results quickly. The "two keys" that the authors identify turn out to be both obvious and in need of re-stating.

Key 1: Breakthrough leaders have a deep understanding of the fundamental laws of business.

Key 2: Breakthrough leaders identify and follow a clear path to performance improvement based on their assessment of the organization's potential using their understanding of the fundamental laws of business.

It's tempting to blow this off as third grade stuff, but it's profoundly simple. And it's worth re-stating because so many people seem to have forgotten it. For a recent example of someone who got it, read Jim Kilts' book about the turnaround at Gillette or Lou Gerstner's book about the turnaround at IBM.

In both cases you'll witness a seasoned and savvy executive bring a deep understanding of the laws of business to bear to determine the best course of action to take. Then you'll see that same executive lay out a clear path to improvement (easier said than done) and follow it. It's simple, but it's not easy.

To help you get at those "laws of business" the authors lay out four of them. Each one gets its own chapter.

Law 1: Costs and prices always decline. This is my old friend, the experience curve. It's a visual tool that shows the relationship between accumulated experience and the long-term decline in costs. This tool isn't as popular as it used to be, but it's still a powerful way to understand market dynamics and it's easy to use.

Law 2: Competitive position determines your options. The authors suggest another chart, this one showing you and your competitors' returns on assets plotted against your market shares. Do this and it's easy to see why driving down costs should be a continuing obsession.

Law 3: Customers and profit pools don't stand still. The advice is basic: protect your existing profit pool while you find new ones. The value-added in this book is the description of some of the predictable aspects of the ways customers' tastes and behaviors change.

Law 4: Simplicity gets results. You don't have to stand out on every dimension. Three is enough. The simpler you can keep your product line and your strategy, the more likely you are to win in the end.

The authors tell us that their four laws aren't prescriptions. They're descriptions of how business works. Then they move on to strategy or, as they put it, defining your path to success. That's what the final three chapters of the book are about.

These fellows must have taken a course in "branding" because in these chapters they can't seem to use the language that everyone else uses. I can only guess, but it seems like they think calling a goal a "point of arrival" will make them stand out from the crowd. Perhaps it will, but only in the same way as a lime green polyester leisure suit.

Make no mistake, there is a lot of good stuff in these chapters, but it's much harder to get at it than the material on the four basic laws. There's an appendix on the use of the experience curve that will be useful if you're not familiar with the tool. Another appendix is titled "The Full-Potential Performance-Improvement Diagnostic." I would have preferred a title like "How to figure out what to do."

If you're looking for simple ways to understand and analyze your business and competitive situation, you should buy The Breakthrough Imperative. The introductory chapters and the chapters on the Four Laws are excellent. The chapters on strategy and execution are not as crisp, but still helpful. But, this will be a good read and a ready-reference regardless of your level of experience. You'll want to keep it handy.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Breakthrough Imperative, November 19, 2008
By Chris Roussos (Southlake, Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Breakthrough Imperative: How the Best Managers Get Outstanding Results (Hardcover)
The Breakthrough Imperative is one of the best business books I have read in the past 10 years. After reading the book I required all my Senior Management Team to read the book and write me a simple two page report. Page One - what did you learn, Page two - how are you going to apply those learning to drive the business forward? Since the reading assignment I follow up with my Executives during weekly one on ones to keep the learning concepts fresh and most importantly applied in our business day to day. The book has been an excellent resource for all of us to learn from other's success and failures. I highly recommend other CEOs share this book with their Leadership Teams!
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5.0 out of 5 stars The Breakthrough Imperative, March 14, 2009
This review is from: The Breakthrough Imperative: How the Best Managers Get Outstanding Results (Hardcover)
Exceptional read on how leaders must obey four laws in the expanding global economy. The first law, cost and prices always decline, helps leaders understand the dynamics of global competition and disruption theory. The second law, competitive position determines your options, helps leaders understand the importance of being one or two in their market space. The third law, customers and profit pools do not stand still, helps leaders understand the fast pace of innovation. The fourth law, simplicity gets results helps leaders think through their strategies and boil them down to the critical few initiatives that make a difference. One of the best business books released in 2008.
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1.0 out of 5 stars Milquetoast - Definitely Not a Breakthrough Exposé
In the context of the economic meltdown of 2007-2009, the cases and lessons cited in this book ring false. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for every CEO, Consultant or CFO
I am a CEO of consulting firm based in Doha, Qatar. One of my recent contarcts involves turning aroung a major corporation which consist of nine divisions and each division is... Read more
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