Companies with a simple strategy and a ruthless focus on execution and business basics can be successful for a very long time. Atkins and Pearce, for example, was founded in the same year that James Monroe was sworn in as president of the United States. They’re an exception. Most companies, even big ones, don’t last […]

Toyota has fallen on hard times. For years, Toyota was considered one of the world’s premier companies. Other firms flocked to Toyota to learn about the Toyota Production System. Toyota focused ruthlessly on continuous improvement and quality. Because they did, they grew. In 2009, Toyota officially became the world’s largest automaker. It wasn’t long afterward […]

Do you really need a strategic plan? The surprising answer may be “no,” especially when you’re starting up. Consider how things went for Enterprise. Today, Enterprise is the largest car rental company in the world. But it didn’t start out with a strategic plan. It didn’t even start as a car rental company. When Jack […]

When Tom Hall began the research that culminated in Ruthless Focus, he thought that most fast-growing companies were started by sharp MBAs. He thought they used state-of-the-art tools to create sophisticated strategies. And, he suspected that they took their business plan to venture capitalists that funded their growth. Then Tom sent a questionnaire to 586 […]