Profitable Growth is Everyone’s Business by Ram Charan

Ram Charan is my favorite management writer. Because all he that says makes sense to me. What he says in his books is most of the times what we call basic ‘Bania Buddhi’, which is conspicuously missing in the corporate world. Especially the ones that come from America. And here in India the ones who blindly try to ape the Americans. He also keeps his work to the point. And does not beat around the bush to make his books hefty.

This book Profitable Growth is Everyone’s Business talks about the continuous growth that an organization needs to plan for. And by that, it does not mean just reaching out and plucking the low lying fruits. The author warns organizations from running after those elusive breakthrough innovations which happen not too often. And focus methodically on smaller growth areas that are always available to any business. One of the key things that he proposes is increasing synergies between the internal departments. Which usually tend to operate in silos after the organization attains a certain size. He by using the baseball language tells them not to run after home runs only. But also run for singles and doubles. The combined effect of multiple singles and doubles can be astonishing for the organization as a whole.

The author advises identifying bad growth from good growth. Measure revenue productivity rather than just productivity. Have a growth budget. Identify opportunities for cross-selling. And put a social engine in place to accentuate growth and make innovation happen.

The byline of the book Profitable Growth says ’10 tools you can use Monday Morning’. Each tool comprises a chapter. And a management lesson. My favorite chapter is obvious ‘Converting Innovation into revenue growth’. I wish sometime Ram would write a complete book on this based on his experience. This is badly needed by most corporate citizens and is an area where myths play the biggest role. People need to identify their innovation needs. Rather than follow what is being flashed as innovation all over media. Which may be good for some companies but not for everyone.

I love the way he puts the basics of business. The way a ‘Bania’ would know, into the modern day jargon for the world to understand. I had the same feeling when I read ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’. But then these two guys are not comparable.

Anyone running a business or interested in business and innovation would enjoy this book Profitable Growth. And if you use what is recommended, you would benefit from it.

Buy this book – Profitable Growth is Everyone’s Business: 10 Tools You can use Monday Morning by Ram Charan at Amazon India.

Read more:

• The Marwaris by Thomas A Timberg, Gurcharan Das
• 12 Simple Secrets of Microsoft Management by David Thielen
• 8 Steps to Innovation by Vinay Dabholkar & Rishikesha T Krishnan
• Game-Changer by AG Lafley & Ram Charan
• The New Age of Innovation by C K Prahalad, M S Krishnan