The Next Level

A practical guide to anticipating and managing the stages of your companys growthfeaturing Inc.s Growth Strategy Analysis.. Most organizationswhether large or small, public or private, profit or non-profithave one thing in common: they want to grow. But why do some companies experience phenomenal growth year after year, regardless of changes in the marketplace, new technologies, fierce competition, and demands from shareholders, while others seem to hit a plateau or find themselves scrambling to keep up with the pack? Employing a powerful, field-tested diagnostic toolthe Inc. Growth Strategy Analysisand showcasing dozens of colorful case examples, James Wood shows entrepreneurs and established business leaders alike how to analyze their organizations growth potential, identify the internal constraints to future growth, and put into practice the strategies that will enable them to break through to new levels of expansion and profit generation. }Is your company bursting at the seams? Playing catch-up to your competitors? Trapped by rear-view mirror management?Most businesseswhether large or small, public or private, profit or non-profithave one thing in common: they want to grow.
How can business leaders tap into the entrepreneurial spirit that launched the enterprise, and channel it into sustainable, breakthrough growth?In The Next Level, James Wood draws on seven years of research and consulting with hundreds of companies, under the auspices of Inc. magazine and the Inc. Growth Strategy Consulting Groupthe preeminent sources of information for growing companiesto present a powerful approach for business owners, managers, directors, and advisers to analyze their organizations growth potential, identify the obstacles to future growth, and implement the critical priorities and actions to ensure long-term success.Through in-dept h examples of such unusual and diverse companies as Group Publishing of Loveland, Colorado; Main Street Muffins of Akron, Ohio; and Discovery Toys of Livermore, California, Wood demonstrates that every organization reaches critical transition points that require fundamental changes, in systems and processes, capabilities and resources, philosophies and goals, and even management structures and leadership.
Those who are willing to look forward to new challengesnot backward to past successesare poised to take a leadership position in the marketplace. The Next Level shows managers how to make these creative and strategic leaps. Wood presents a wide variety of strategic and tactical tools, including the Growth Strategy Analysis, a powerful, field-tested diagnostic assessment that allows you to identify your organizations relative strengths and weaknesses and determine whether youre behind the pack, getting by, or one step ahead, along five key variablesmarket intelligence, strategic leadership, clarity of purpose, planning, and internal infrastructureand offers a wealth of practical guidance for mastering these critical elements. Written in the lively, hands-on, and incisive style that readers of Inc. have come to expect, The Next Level reminds readers that they control the destiny of their organizations, by virtue of the quality of decisions they make about their companies futures. The Next Level will help you make those crucial decisions that lead to sustained and profitable growth. }