What Charan loves to do is to solve business problems. With his plainspoken, Socratic approach, he helps demolish organizational silos or persuade entrenched executives to change their points of view. Companies seek him out for his "wise man" approach rather than choosing a consultant with a narrow specialty in reengineering or organizational behavior. "I use him as a sounding board. I value his thinking, his creativity, and his unbiased view of the world." Charan doesn't reinforce his clients' preconceived notions. Rather, he submerges his own ego, asks questions, and ultimately tries to bring the executive to his or her own "aha" moment. His affability was a plus. What the CEO Wants You to Know (Crown Business, 2001) -- I love that book, because it gets to the guts of the business.
Some of the key ideas in Ram Charan's latest book, Profitable Growth Is Everyone's Business: 10 Tools You Can Use Monday Morning
-hit singles and doubles rather than home runs, to fund smaller projects that will bring in regular revenue.
-bad growth=acquisitions, cost-cutting
-ROI target=boost revenue productivity, the numerator.
