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Beyond the Familiar
Long-Term Growth through Customer Focus and Innovation

Patrick Barwise (Author), Sean Meehan (Author)

9780470976319, Wiley

Hardback, published 11 March 2011

192 pages
23.6 x 16 x 2.1 cm, 0.422 kg

"Beyond the Familiar lives up to its promise, rewards readers' trust and reinforces Simply Better's straightforward lessons." (FT, March 2011)

"... very much a practical guide ... sets out methods of achieving the Holy Grail of consistent growth." (Business Life, May 2011)

"Beyond the Familiar is a prescription for cautious, step-by-step change, not blue sky thinking." (Marketingweek.co.uk, May 2011)

"This is a very short, very good book on how to grow a business, which every CEO or aspiring CEO should read." (Robin Fairlie of the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing)

Strong customer-focused companies have a clear, relevant promise which they obsessively deliver day-in, day-out. At the same time, they relentlessly drive the market by evolving the offer in the face of market developments and opportunities. Because they meet customer needs better than the competition, again and again, they are able to generate sustainable, profitable, market-leading organic growth. The problem the book addresses is how to achieve this. The authors identify five key steps using their framework for success:

  • Offer a clear, relevant customer promise
  • Build customer trust by reliably delivering that promise
  • Continuously improve the promise, while still reliably delivering it
  • Drive the market by innovating beyond the familiar
  • Support all this with an open organization that promotes frank discussion based on clear facts and market feedback.

Above all the book runs counter to the fashionable claim that the starting-point for business success should be to find a 'blue-sky', 'out-of-the-box' breakthrough innovation. Barwise and Meehan use many compelling cases to illustrate how managers can find ways within their existing network and organization to achieve long term growth.

Preface vi

Acknowledgements ix

Chapter 1 What Every CEO Wants 1

Chapter 2 Your Promise to the Customer 19

Chapter 3 Delivering Today’s Promise Better and Better Every Day 39

Chapter 4 Driving the Market by Relentlessly Improving the Promise 67

Chapter 5 Innovating Beyond the Familiar 93

Chapter 6 Opening Up: What Leaders Must Do 119

Postscript 145

End Notes 151

Index 167

About the Authors 174

Subject Areas: Business & management [KJ]
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