Growth Strategies

What can we do to make sure we're more like Barnes & Noble and less like Borders? How can we make certain that our organization is capable of expanding our branching range for maximum divergence?

The short answer is that we need to make branching a planned and routine part of our business operations.

This can seem contradictory, as divergence by definition means actively moving into the unknown, which sounds like the opposite of planning. Moreover, the uncertainty associated with new directions makes them psychologically less attractive to us, especially inside organizations. The trick, then, is to turn branching itself into something familiar and known by operationalizing it and making it an everyday, expected occurrence.

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