Fewer, bigger, bolder

Fewer, Bigger, BOLDER

Sanjay Khosla+Mohanbir Sawhney

Sanjay khosla worked with Unilever in India, Fonterra and Kraft. Mohanbir Sawhney is a Professor at Kellogg's Business

school.

A refrain you hear in every company is “we are doing too much", 'we are stretched too thin', 'we are drowning in routine’ and ‘we have become too complex’

When you look at sales, look at the quality of sales, how sustainable is it? Quality growth builds on itself.

Key principles for growth

• Do less, make fewer bets.

• Be bold, focus on highest potential initiatives.

• Simplify and keep costs low

• Execute, keep testing and refining.

• Unleash people, give them resources and authority.

Sustainable growth is not something you get into overnight. It is a journey that requires continuing effort.

Each extra move seems logical when made, but expansion without focus leads to disappointment. Capabilities get stretched and complexity increases faster than revenues.

After a while, expansion becomes expensive and brand managers tend to binge like junkies on variants etc.

On the other hand, deleting is simple, you can stop doing something stupid faster than you can start something new.

In most companies revenues grow linearly and complexity grows non linearly.

It is never about doing more, it is about doing things better. Focus needs simplicity in strategy and clarity in execution.

‘It is always a question of how innovative and how brave you are” Tim Clark, President –Emirates.

Focus needs a ton of discipline. The business world is full of temptations posing as opportunities.

You cannot eat insights for lunch. Translating insights needs leadership commitment.

Workshops have become the staples of the business world. With numbing power points, paper lists tacked to the walls, workshops provoke silent groans.

In any workshop- mute the boss, this always leads to a better workshop as people speak up.

Kraft historically had low levels of openness around open and honest communication.

Leaders play a key role as catalysts in discovery, but they need to step back and let the teams drive the discovery process.

Brands are emotional connections that stay relevant for generations.

No company is an island and it has to build collaborative relationships in the eco system. That can be a powerful lens for growth.

Innovation has three Ms. : Momentum ( winning potential), margin ( profit potential) and materiality ( revenue potential)

Innovation should always ask-how big is the potential, what resources do we need and what time frame of advantage do we have?

Good people have four essential qualities – passion, team players, transformational and are dissatisfied with the way things are.

Under the right circumstances, leaders should focus on defining ambitious goals and then let their managers and teams figure out the answers.

Good reviews are built on one element – trust.

Focus on what matters, create sustainable growth and innovate broadly.

Strategy is useless without execution. Execution fails when companies try to do too much.

The most important lesson about metrics, is that simpler your metrics, the better the chance of execution.

What do we measureWhen do we measure itWho gets involved

Own up to mistakes, stories of failure can inspire and be wonderfully instructive.

Manage a few innovations well, rather than managing all badly.

Don’t introduce a new product if it doesn’t have a margin higher than the average.

Secure your future by investing in brands and customers.