收縮業務的智慧：寶潔如何靠“瘦身”來實現增長

????經過十幾年的全面擴張，寶潔（Procter & Gamble）已經無所不包，從美容用品、刮胡刀到電池不一而足。上周該公司宣布，將砍掉一大半品牌以實現增長。首席執行官雷富禮表示，寶潔最多將剝離100個品牌，以便將注意力集中在70-80個收入最高的品牌上。這家全球最大的消費品公司，希望通過“瘦身”來變得更強。

????寶潔的這份公告很好地闡釋了一個有些矛盾的模式，那就是擴張的誘惑和收縮的智慧——在不同行業大大小小的公司追求增長的過程中都能看到這一點。

????每家公司都被寄望于實現增長、創造股東創造價值。這往往會造成它們為了增長而采用所有可能的手段：延長產品線、擴充現有品牌、爭取到更多消費者、進入新的市場。每個擴張機會似乎都很誘人，因為它能帶來收入。但并非所有的增長都具有同樣的價值。不顧一切地追求增長機會就是擴張的誘惑。如果公司不為如何增長定下規矩，它們的業務復雜化速度就會迅速超過收入增長速度。由此產生的結果是，經營變得笨重，重點模糊，成本上升，盈利水平下降。

????那么，為什么像寶潔這樣聰明的公司也會讓局勢發展到這樣的地步才采取行動呢？它為什么會把邊緣品牌保留這么長時間呢？有時候，問題暴露時已經太晚。就像過量飲食——吃飽了這個信息從胃部傳遞到大腦需要15分鐘，公司在意識到實際情況方面也存在延遲。等它意識到了，“贅肉”已經堆積了起來。

????寶潔的經歷并不特殊。和寶潔一樣，另一家大型消費品公司卡夫食品（Kraft Foods）也早已意識到了“收縮的智慧”。

????幾年前，卡夫的發展中市場業務規模龐大，包含幾十種產品，在60多個國家和地區擁有150多個品牌。這項業務已經變得步履蹣跚，缺乏凝聚力和方向。2007年，它推出了一項策略，目的是找到業務重心。這項策略的代號為“5-10-10”，內容是集中于5大品類、10大品牌和10個關鍵市場。這種做法讓卡夫的注意力更加集中，同時鎖定了資源，使該公司得以采取一些重大行動。6年內，這項業務的收入規模就從50億美元增加到了160億美元，內生性增長達到了兩位數，盈利水平高達50%。

????稍后，作為世界上業務覆蓋面可能最廣的科技公司，微軟（Microsoft）看來也進行了類似的轉型。經過多年來無所顧忌的產品擴張和收購，新任CEO薩提亞?納德拉著手為該公司瘦身。微軟開始壓縮諾基亞手機業務，把重心放在了成為一家以移動為先、云為先的公司。

????確定優先度是其中關鍵——要找到真正起作用的東西，然后聚焦。做更少的事，但把它們做的更好。這就是我們所謂的“收縮的智慧”。

????After more than a decade of widespread expansion, picking up everything from beauty products to razors to batteries, Procter & Gamble announced last week that it was going to prune more than half its brands in an effort to grow. CEO A.G. Lafley said the company would divest up to 100 brands and focus on the 70 or 80 in its portfolio that produce the highest revenue. The world’s largest consumer products company wants to slim down to get bigger.

????P&G’s announcement illustrates a contradictory pattern we have seen in companies both big and small and across industries as businesses pursue growth—the seduction of more and the wisdom of less.

????Every business is expected to grow to create shareholder value. Too often, this results in growth by any means possible. Extend product lines. Expand existing brands. Acquire more customers. Venture into new markets. Every expansion opportunity seems attractive because it brings in revenues. But not all growth dollars are equally green. The mindless pursuit of growth opportunities is the seduction of more. If companies aren’t disciplined in how they grow, the complexity of their business increases at a faster rate than revenues do. The result: unwieldy operations, dilution of focus, higher costs and lower profitability.

????So why do smart companies like P&G let things get so far before they act? Why did P&G hang on to its marginal brands so long? Sometimes, the problem doesn’t make itself apparent until it’s too late. It’s like overeating—just as it takes 15 minutes for the message that you are full to get from your stomach to your head, companies suffer a delay in recognizing what is happening. By then, the corporate calories have piled up.

????P&G’s experience isn’t unique. And like P&G , Kraft Foods , another big consumer products company, came to see what we call, the “Wisdom of Less.”

????A few years ago, Kraft’s developing markets business carried a sprawling portfolio featuring dozens of categories of products – more than 150 brands in over 60 countries. The business was sputtering—it lacked cohesion and direction. Starting in 2007, the division kicked off a strategy to bring focus to the organization. Labeled 5-10-10, the strategy called for concentrating on five strong categories, 10 power brands and 10 key markets. The new approach narrowed attention and targeted resources, allowing the company to make a few big bets. Within six years, the developing markets business for Kraft Foods soared from $5 billion in revenues to $16 billion, with double-digit organic growth, while profitability shot up 50%.

????More recently, Microsoft , perhaps the world’s most sprawling technology company, seems to be going through a similar transformation. After a multi-year binge of product expansion and acquisitions, Microsoft’s new CEO, Satya Nadella, is slimming the company down. Microsoft is cutting back on its Nokia devices business and focusing on becoming a mobile-first and cloud-first company.

????Prioritizing is the key—finding what really works and focusing on that. Doing fewer things, but doing them bigger and better. That’s what we call, “the Wisdom of Less.”