Return driven: lessons from high-performance companies

Article Type: Abstracts From: Strategic Direction, Volume 25, Issue 1

Frigo M.L. and , Mulherin J.J.Strategic Finance, July 2008, Vol. 90 No. 1, Start page: 25, No. of pages: 6

Purpose – to put forward a strategic framework for achieving high performance. Design/methodology/approach – looks at research on high performance companies and explains the “return driven strategy framework”used by the author to identify them by measuring return on investment, growth and shareholder returns. Offers three lessons which management teams can learn from high performance companies: a commitment to making sustainable, superior returns on invested capital ethically; a focus on identifying otherwise unmet customer needs; and the provision of innovative products/services to meet them. Describes the steps involved in putting return driven strategy to work –developing and communicating it, choosing the right execution frameworks and managing risk – and reports that the framework has also been used in business education. Adds a brief case study to illustrate how this approach helped a US company to assess its strategic position and develop a successful way forward. Originality/value – clearly explains some lessons which can be learnt from high performance companies.ISSN: 1524-833XReference:37AT096

Keywords: Business performance, Corporate strategy,Strategic objectives, Strategic planning, United States of America