IMD-OWPLIVE22-PostEvent-Report

WHAT HELPS COMPANIES ENDURE LONGER THANOTHERS? barriers to achieving their growth objectives lie within their own four walls. Q&A →Strategy WHAT IS YOUR HOT TOPIC? Every company wants to grow in the future, but this cannot come at the expense of financial performance today. Reconciling both sides of this equation is an important factor in ensuring the longevity of your business. WHY DOES IT MATTER NOW? Corporate vulnerability is on the rise, with the average lifespan of companies falling dramatically over the course of the last few decades – from 60 years in 1960 to just about two decades in 2020. This implies that the ability to exploit the current business model while hunting for future growth options is even more important. Research shows that between 60% and 90% of growth strategies fail to meet their expectations as a result of their poor execution. Amongst key reasons why this happens are: failure to adequately connect commitments with the needed resources, overestimation of the company’s capacity to reach goals, and failure to build the needed capabilities to succeed. Another issue is that growth creates complexity and bureaucracy as businesses scale. Reflecting this, 85% of executives say the greatest

Companies that align growth and performance are more likely to extend their lifespan and remain at the frontier of their competitive environment.

NICCOLÒ PISANI Professor of Strategy and International Business

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