"Bessemer converter (iron into steel) Allegheny Ludlum Steel e Corp Brackenridge, Pa (LOC)" [crop]. Ca. 1940. Alfred T. Palmer via Library of Congress

Requisite Organization Case Study: Sustained Double-Digit Growth At Specialty Chemicals Co.

Forrest ChristianManaging, Organizations, Strategy Leave a Comment

When Tony Stark took Specialty Chemicals – a division of Conglomerate, Inc. – the group had had 0.2% growth over the last seven years. So how did it turn into sustained double-digit growth the year after he arrived?

Here’s an RO success story that I wrote for the GO Society web page. It’ll be up there soon as I get the okay from the guy I call “Tony Stark”. [NOTE FROM 2013: When I wrote this, no one but nerds had heard of Iron Man. Since then it’s obvious that “Tony Stark” was a silly pseudonym for our illustrious CEO.]

What I liked was that he got this amazing change out of the same people, more or less, just in different places. And with a good strategy.

The story illustrates my point that strategy, people, structure — well, everything! — is interrelated in running a business. You can’t just touch one and think you’ll get results, because you’ll have to touch the rest at the same time. You focus on one, but changing one changes the rest.

Enjoy.

Implementing Strategy at the Right Level: Sustained Double-Digit Growth At Specialty Chemicals Co.” [PDF]

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