Rough Diamonds

Building a market around specialized coat-hooks in trains . . . a beauty contest to build brand awareness for cosmetics . . . catering to local tastes for specialty sausages. Although these examples don't represent innovative products or strategies, the companies behind them are revolutionizing the global marketplace. Rough diamonds are companies that embrace dynamic new business models and development strategies that are defining the next generation of flourishing firms in the fast-growing BRIC economies. Rough diamonds rank among the top twenty-five manufacturing firms in their own countries as well as comparable firms worldwide-often exceeding them in terms of sales growth, profit margins, and return on assets over time. This groundbreaking book explores who these rough diamond firms are, shows how they achieved extraordinary levels of performance, and reveals what it will take for them to sustain these advantages in the future. These remarkable firms craft profitable growth through entrepreneurial ventures and core competencies specific to their markets and operations. Through four interrelated and interlocked development processes-the four Cs-these companies whose origins may have been in the creation of new markets evolve into firms whose success lies in the cultivation of long-term, sustainable, and profitable growth. The success and future growth of rough diamonds foreshadow the new rules of the game for firms in both developing and developed markets. With insight and a wealth of illustrative examples, Rough Diamonds reveals some of the most-important changes occurring within the BRIC markets-from trends in institutional and industrial development, to the impact of new government policies, to the shifting balance of competitive position between incumbent and upstart companies. Ultimately, Rough Diamonds shows what it will take to produce a continual stream of rough diamonds into the future.