These companies demonstrate a particularly powerful Genius of the AND: preserve the core AND stimulate progress. Think of a yin-yang symbol used in Taoist philosophy. On one side, you have “preserve the core.” On the other side, you have “stimulate progress.

Articulating a similarly clear and differentiated strategy, supported by a strong core culture that can deliver on the brand’s promises, is the key for any company wanting to scale up.

As Porter summarizes, “A company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference that it can preserve.

However, we’ve seen profits and cash double within a year when businesspeople also devote just a little more attention and resources to accounting (remember, John D. Rockefeller was an accountant by training).

Jim Collins’ Harvard Business Review article “Turning Goals Into Results: e Power of Catalytic Mechanisms