If a strategy meets a goal: It's working. If a strategy meets a target: It's a success.
Michael PorterRead
If your goal is anything but profitability - if it's to be big, or to grow fast, or to become a technology leader - you'll hit problems.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that profitability should be the primary goal of a business, as other ambitions can lead to challenges.
Michael Porter highlights the importance of focusing on profitability in business. While aspirations such as growth, size, or market leadership are commendable, failing to prioritize profit can result in significant difficulties. By centering on financial success, companies can create sustainable growth and avoid pitfalls associated with chasing secondary goals.
Themes
ProfitabilityBusinessSuccessGrowthLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
During a business strategy meeting, you might say, 'As Michael Porter once mentioned, if profitability isn't our goal, we may face significant challenges.'
More from Michael Porter
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As a multisport athlete, I was always fascinated with competition and how to win. At HBS and later at the Harvard Department of Economics, I was drawn to the field of competition and strategy because it tackles perhaps the most basic question in both business management and industrial economics: What determines corporate performance?
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In a period of economic downturn, the overwhelming instinct is to pare back, cut costs, and lay off. If you do that, do so with your strategy in mind. The worst mistake is to cut across the board. Instead, reconnect and recommit to a clear strategy that will distinguish yourself from others.
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I think that, too many times, business has been seen as acting in its narrow self-interest rather than, essentially, contributing more broadly to society. I think a lot of that is unintentional; I don't think that many managers are deliberately trying to be unethical or are not trying to be sensitive to social needs.
Michael PorterRead
You can't have a healthy society unless you have healthy companies that are making a profit, that are employing people and that are growing.
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