The passing of the 'aggressive' era.

• Author: Hall, Robert
• Position: Marketing Solutions

"Every road has its say." -singer/songwriter Josh Gohan

As we start afresh after a tumultuous business year, it is a good idea to look at what we learned and how it might be applied this year. The year 2002 brought to an end an era of "aggression." This era was a time of overly aggressive acquisitions, growth plans, marketing claims, stock price targets, accounting, pricing, compensation, marketing campaigns and technology spending. For a while, "aggressive" trumped strategic, substantive, thoughtful, accurate and right.

Voices of reason came in a distant second to those of aggression: elevating expectations with no plan for delivery, cutting corners, making promises that couldn't be kept, setting unrealistic goals that became millstones, juicing the numbers. All this was a twist on Darwin: survival of the boldest rather than the fittest.

We enter a new era. It's too soon to name it, but not too soon to characterize it: More substance, less swagger. No bold claims without solid support. Goals that inspire rather than evoke fear of missed numbers. A new view of compensation. New expectations of accountability for board of directors.

What does all this mean for how you will run your businesses differently in 2003?

Aggressive does not need to go away or take a vacation. It just needs to grow up. Aggressive now must focus on three key questions.

1. One, what strategy provides you with unique competitive advantage that will drive your growth?

   What have you learned in this previous era that informs your direction -- that guides you to exploit those areas where you provide distinctive value? What have you learned about M&A, technology, pricing, product development, geographic expansion, customer management and marketing that now leads you to your current direction? What have you ruled out and why? What will you stop doing and stop spending management time and resources on?

   Organizations must become aggressive in defining their direction in specific, tangible ways that move beyond empty claims and that reflect what was learned in the recent past.

2. What metrics define victory (organic revenue growth, profitability and so forth) for your organization?

   Jim Collins in his excellent book "Good to Great" points out that for an organization to be great, management must develop keen...