Profitability Vs. Growth: How To Achieve Both

Bottom-line margin or top-line growth? Ask managers which they want and they will tell you "both." But research into over a thousand companies shows that only 32% are able to achieve both more often than not. With the odds stacked against them, how should managers master the art of achieving both? The conventional answer is to seek "balance" between a focused portfolio and a diversified one; between organic and inorganic (M&A) growth; and between exposure to high-margin business and high-growth business.