Surviving the recession and thriving beyond it: Rita McGrath explains how to deliver discovery‐driven growth

Purpose – In the current recession, cost cutting alone will not enable companies to survive the recession and thrive beyond it. Companies need fresh ideas on how to continue their internal corporate venturing activities, but at lower cost and reduced exposure to risk. This paper aims to investigate this issue. Design/methodology/approach – To provide corporate leaders with guidance on best practices for managing growth ventures, Strategy & Leadership interviewed internationally recognized authority, Rita G. McGrath, co‐author of Discovery‐driven Growth. Findings – McGrath offers many tips and insights – from how to address customers' needs to building an organization capable of routinely producing discovery‐driven growth. Practical implications – Companies want to be extracting resources from flat, slow‐growth or increasingly irrelevant lines of business in order to redirect them toward more valuable, higher‐growth and higher potential areas. Growth ventures can help companies identify where the future resources should go, as well as create a culture of constant investment in the future. Originality/value – McGrath discusses important tools and techniques she and her colleagues have developed for assessing and managing discovery‐driven growth projects.