As we keep saying here at LaunchLab: even though the economy is spluttering and wheezing certain well-placed companies are sprinting ahead of the pack.

The trick, as a small business, is to peer over their shoulder and copy what they are doing. But who are these businesses? Well Management Today Magazine has very kindly put together a list of them.

The MT rundown of ‘most admired’ companies is basically a list of big corporate entities that are growing sustainably, boast rock solid management teams, and stand a good chance of emerging from the current economic malaise smelling of roses.  

A quick look at the top five and the cynics among you might groan. Yes Diageo makes booze (to be consumed responsibly) and yes people do tend to drink through recessions, but that’s not the only reason the company’s claimed this year’s top spot.

Before the downturn the business was doing very well indeed. So much so that it’s chief executive Paul Walsh won the gong for a Decade of Business Excellence at this year’s National Business Awards. Last year the business turned over £7.2bn and made profits in excess of £1.5bn.

Now I realise this sort of success is tricky for a small business to mimic overnight, but Diageo’s key strengths are a great set of brands (Guinness anyone?), benign market (people, by and large, like a drink) and award-winning management team.

And any business can line those up. The lesson? Get your market, brand and people right and your business will run itself.

But there’s more. When Diageo founded in 1997 through the merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan ltd, it had an embarrassment of brands that went from drinks to burger chains (Burger King) via pastry (Pilsbury).

This big mess of operations meant the business lacked focus and clarity, while running such a diverse portfolio proved a drain on resources. So Diageo gradually snipped at its fringe brands and focused on its core drinks business.

Today it’s the biggest beer and spirits company in the world employing more than 22,000 people. The moral here is focus on what you know – especially in a downturn – and don’t be tempted to overstretch yourself for the sake of a few new clients.

Saying all that, Tesco features at number five on MT’s list and today announced sales growth slowing to just 2 per cent in the last three months – so what do they know?

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By Dan Matthews  on   Dec 02,2008

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Keywords

management    branding    marketing    media    drink   

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