This paper describes five growth lessons that business organizations and their leadership teams can use to meet the mandate of profitable growth. These lessons reflect the reality of business markets, building upon the defining characteristic of complex customer chains and the imperative that a supplier must deliver value to its customers. An approach to segmentation based upon customer buying behavior is outlined.

This segmentation structure identifies distinct business environments within which distinct strategies are appropriate. Firms that understand these segments and the strategies that work within them can target opportunities that fit their own capabilities more effectively and focus upon the value-creation levers that are connected to success in these markets. This structure also defines a new perspective on competition, suggesting the directions from which competitive challenges are most threatening and the responses that can be put into place to ward off such challenges. Finally, the importance of strong relationship-oriented competencies to growth strategy are outlined and linked to the environments in which strategy is likely to be implemented in business markets.