Productivity is often portrayed as a gradual process of many firms incrementally innovating and improving efficiency. MGI’s latest research challenges that conventional wisdom. A very small number of extraordinary firms creates the lion’s share of productivity growth through bold strategies much more than through efficiency gains. Fewer than 100 productivity “Standouts” account for two-thirds of growth in our sample of 8,300 large firms in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Rather than many firms moving an inch, a few extraordinary firms move many miles—and productivity gains come in powerful bursts rather than through gradual diffusion of best practice.
The session kicked off with an overview of the report findings by authors Chris Bradley and Jan Mischke, followed by a fireside chat with Eric Kutcher and Ed Bastian, Chief Executive Officer at Delta Air Lines; and a panel discussion moderated by Olivia White featuring Shauna McIntyre, Former CEO, Fortune 150 Board Member, and Strategic Advisor and Matthew Slaughter, Paul Danos Dean of the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College.
Questions discussed during the event included:
- What advice could be given to firms looking to become more productive through bold, value-creating moves?
- How can policymakers integrate firm-level dynamics into national growth strategies?
- What emerging trends or technologies will define the next wave of productivity gains over the next 5 to 10 years – and who will reap them?
- In times of economic downturn or market disruption, what concrete steps can leaders take to maintain, or even increase, productivity?
For more on this topic, read our report, The power of one: How standout firms grow national productivity.