Building a Growth Factory (Enhanced Edition)

Introducing the Four Components That Make Innovation Repeatable

Even the best-performing companies eventually stall. Sustaining momentum and remaining a great growth company takes a system.

Scott Anthony and David Duncan call this system a “Growth Factory.” In this HBR Single, which features video interviews from inside a small set of elite companies, the authors show how to get continual innovation and growth right.

Anthony and Duncan draw on their extensive experience working with these growth factory organizations – most notably Procter & Gamble and Citigroup – to show environments where innovation is both repeatable and reliable, not relegated to an off-site or isolated division that has no real connection to the organization’s future. In addition to relaying the four main components of a successful system, they cite real examples of what P&G, Citi, and even their own firm, Innosight, have gone through to stay firmly on a path toward growth despite huge challenges. Building a Growth Factory also offers practical advice on how to put this into action in your own company – whether it’s a large multinational or a small start-up.

HBR Singles provide brief yet potent business ideas for today’s thinking professional.