To give the book some structure I wrote it like a recipe for business success: one of my working titles finished with: “… in ten simple difficult steps”. The ten chapters are illustrated by Arm’s experiences, but will be relevant to almost any organisation with ambitions for growth. The steps of the recipe are not not easy, they are really difficult to do well. It requires purposeful design and consistent execution across the organisation from C-suite to project teams:
- Find your Unique – A historical look at the foundational assets of Advanced RISC Machines Limited
- Build Strategy, Test … Repeat – Building the initial business plan and strategy, and then continuous refinement
- Create and Sustain the Right Culture – Creating and evolving the culture
- Get the Customer’s Voice Inside – Ensuring outside voices are heard and acted upon
- Build a Delivery Machine – Building an operational machine to deliver product and revenue consistently
- Admit when you’re Wrong – Fighting against the company’s own common wisdom
- Create an Ecosystem of Shared Success – Building a partnership with the industry for mutual benefit
- Challenge complacency – Keeping the pace and expectations high
- Deal with Threats…Fast – Reacting at speed to outside threats and competitive products
- Stay unified – Staying united despite growth and diversification