“The Power of Leadership”

I was recently reading about the research of David G. Thompson, author of Mastering the Seven Essentials of High-Growth Companies and Blueprint to a Billion. David studies companies such as The Middleby Corp., a commercial food service equipment manufacturer which grew from $100MM in Sales in 2001 to $657MM in 2009 in part by a complete redesign of its commercial restaurant equipment design to accommodate the needs and preferences of female chefs vs. the male centric designs which have dominated that market.  Middleby researched this opportunity with the creation of a Women’s Chef Advisory Council that helped them understand the unique needs of the female chef.

Thompson describes the key element in these large and rapidly growing enterprises is the ability to “create and sustain a breakthrough value proposition.”  He says the organization must go beyond showing how customers will benefit from the use of their products or services and create a true transformational “breakthrough” value proposition by redefining a market segment with innovation or creating an entire “category killer,” which changes an entire market by offering better, faster, and or cheaper.

In this way, a high-growth company is able to exploit a high-growth market.  Thompson’s research and books offer inside looks into many firms like Middleby Corp., which are not household names, but are significant players in their role as niche “category killers!”

I wonder what niches your business might dominate if you were to tap into the specialized knowledge of your own client base and extract a transformational concept?

“I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they now do.” – Will Rogers

Have a transformative day!

Shawn
Performance Institute – A Global Leader in Human Capital and Business Development

Russ M. Miller, LLIF – Chairman and CEO

Sunny Hong Zhang – Managing Partner – China

Shawn M. Miller – Managing Partner – USA

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