Growing the Top Line

CHAPTER 14Model Returns: Step 6: Assess the Outcome

Here’s where our process differentiates from most planning processes. We are going to put teeth into our plan.

Most growth strategy is pie in the sky. Some creatives think about market‐facing activity without an appreciation for what that exercise will cost. I personally reject that approach. Growth has to be profitable, sustainable, and scalable for any‐sized company for it to be worth pursuing.

John Seebeck, James Klein, and Rob Hays add their own beliefs on the role of profitability.

John Seebeck, VP and GM of e‐Commerce at CDW:

When you run a store, or a group of stores, your job is very simple. It’s to grow profitably. It’s the same in retail. At Crate & Barrel it’s very, very simple . . . the targets are always profitable net revenues.

James Klein, President Infrastructure and Defense at Qorvo:

We certainly want to grow, but we want to have some boundary conditions. Growth without profit is not very exciting. . . So yes, you want to have growth, but you want to make sure that you’re also able to grow the bottom line. And my model has always been to try to grow expenses at half the rate we’re growing revenue – then we can glide into a continuous improvement bottom‐line profitability. When it’s all said and done, that’s the game, right? It’s all about how much profit you can put toward the bottom line.

Rob Hays, VP ...