Signal Only one in six companies with a lagging core outgrew peers overall

Summary

McKinsey research finds that a weak core business rarely supports strong overall growth. Among companies whose core segment grew more slowly than their industry median, only one in six still managed corporate growth above that of their peers. The report uses this to argue that organizations are unlikely to grow well unless the core is flourishing. It adds that growing size and diversity tend to blur what the core actually is, and earlier research found just one large business in ten growing revenue in seven of the previous ten years. The finding supports the chapter's call to clarify the core, concentrate resources there, and divest what does not belong.