The process of going from good to great tends to be evolutionary, not revolutionary. It represents the sum total of incessant pushes – and consistent pushes – in the same direction every time. There is no one “aha” that makes all the difference. None of the companies in the book could ultimately point to one single step. They could only point to it being evolutionary. Evolution is a whole different concept than change and morphing is a whole different concept than evolution. Morphing is deliberate evolution.
The various steps, when accumulated, produce the breakthrough.
The steps are as follows:
• Build up to a breakthrough process.
• Plot an internal goal, say 20% growth per year, while at the same time creating an internal goal, say 40% per year, and use the difference to fund R&D in entrepreneurial areas which will generate greater returns.
• The accumulation of visible results will have people lining up, energized by the results, which then builds momentum for the organization as a whole.