Business Builders

Will you join a new breed of corporate leaders who think like an old breed-your company's founders-not Wall Street servants? This groundbreaking research examines four types of business leaders. Which will you be?

• Builders are passionate about delivering value to customers-just like your company's founders.
• Decorators are fixated on making the firm look good, quarter after quarter after quarter.
• Remodelers are good at improving current operations, but they seldom build anything new.
• Realtors are mostly interested in M&A, but often fail to grow what they've acquired.

• Primary Duty: The #1 mandate for every business leader should be: "leave your business stronger than you found it." Business Builders don't cross a finish line. They pass a baton.
• Job description: Too many business leaders today (41%) are Decorators, fixated on demonstrating "curb appeal" every quarter. They don't understand that financial reporting is a spectator--not participant--sport.
• Business Goal: 70% of slower-growth companies have the mistaken goal of maximizing shareholder wealth. This is a lovely result but a lousy goal.
• Time Horizon: Business leaders at slower-growth companies have short time horizons and implement cost controls far too frequently. They suffer from "first-domino fixation" and "first-domino amnesia."
• Top Initiatives: All initiatives are not created equal: There is only one that leads to profitable, sustainable growth... but this fact is lost on many business leaders.
• Results Focus: 72% of slower-growth business leaders are imbalanced toward near-term results instead of long-term capabilities.