Growth has become harder to capture and sustain. Yet against this challenging backdrop, most organizations still default to “safe” initiatives, pursuing incremental gains while underestimating the urgency of disruption. Others scramble for creativity without commercial grounding. Too many delays in launching new products or services, losing precious time to competitors. 

Although growth is a top priority for business leaders, in reality, very few companies systematically scan for and evaluate new and bolder growth opportunities. This leaves the rest vulnerable to stagnation. Meanwhile, new business models and technology innovation are shaking up competitive landscapes and changing industries forever.  

While this uncertainty is unsettling, growth is still possible. In fact, disruptive business models are poised to drive a significant share of future growth. Studies show that over 40% of CEOs expect to reinvent their business models within the next decade to stay competitive.  

The message is clear: incremental improvements are no longer enough, even for traditionally stable sectors. Companies must have the conviction to take a bold and differentiated approach if they want to outpace disruption and deliver measurable results.

Understanding the Growth Issue

So, what are the interconnected forces that are contributing to negative cycles?

• Saturated Markets
  Everyone is chasing the same customers with near-identical offerings. Marginal tweaks or upgrades no longer stand out.
• Relentless Disruption
  AI, geopolitics and changing regulations are rewriting the rules. Reinventors win. Reactors fall behind.
• Organizational Constraints
  Outdated systems and risk-averse silos block change. The biggest barriers are often internal.
• Data Without Direction
  Too much data, not enough clarity. Insight only matters if it drives action.
• Culture Dilemma
  Disconnected cultures stall growth. Motivation suffers when purpose, leadership and values misalign.
• Shifting Expectations
  Customers want relevance, responsibility and personalization. Staying ahead means constantly being responsive and adapting.

Together, these forces create a paradox: growth has never been more essential, but it has never been harder to capture.  

The Scenarios of Growth

So how can companies position for the long term? At Prophet, we see growth as more than short-term fixes. Our Uncommon Growth Moves approach is a systematic set of innovative and human-centered strategies to drive exceptional, sustainable, above industry average growth over a five-year period. 

These typically happen in six critical business situations. Although each scenario carries high stakes, they also have the potential to serve as a powerful engine of change:

• Launching a new business model or platform
• Entering a new market, category or subcategory
• Developing a new channel or touchpoint
• Creating a new, or revitalizing a product or service
• Launching a new brand or rebranding
• Entering a new partnership or pursuing M&A

The Four Steps to Uncommon Growth

Driving uncommon growth requires more than just aspirational ideas or solid business discipline on their own. So, what can set you apart? The real power lies in combining imagination with rigor. This means bringing together creative exploration to uncover transformative opportunities, but at the same time, anchoring ideas in commercial analysis, to ensure they can be executed at speed and scale. 

The real value is recognizing how to identify and initiate a path towards lasting growth. Prophet’s proven four-step approach helps leaders balance these forces, turning ambition into impact, as we demonstrate in these real-world examples: 

1. Immersion and Strategic Framing

Focus on the most promising growth spaces by identifying unmet needs, disruptive analogues and future “swim lanes” for innovation.
 
For example, we worked with a multinational telco company to uncover its customers’ pain points and frustrations. Based on this research, we led a significant brand refresh that positioned them as a genuine alternative to the competition. This resulted in 17 quarters of customer and revenue growth and five billion U.S. dollars in revenue attributed to this reframed approach.

2. Creative Exploration and Concept Development

Conduct rapid ideation sprints with interdisciplinary teams, clustering and prioritizing bold concepts based on impact and feasibility.
 
We recently worked with a global FMCG company to help them explore and evaluate more than 300 new product concepts. This involved bringing together their leaders in a large, in-person co-creation event, that was reinforced by AI-supported ideation sessions.

3. Business Casing and Road-Mapping

Model revenue potential, resource needs, and feasibility to ensure that ideas are grounded in commercial reality.
 
One company we partnered with had ambitious plans to be an early mover in releasing a new product. When building their fast-paced go-to market and break-even plan, we ensured the approach was commercially viable and impactful.

4. Launch Planning and Activation

Translate ambition into market impact with execution blueprints, campaign development, and leadership engagement tools.
 
A well-executed launch is not just about unveiling a product or service. It is a bold statement that helps you to stand out in a crowded marketplace. We partnered with a leading global bank to develop a series of immersive, high-touch roll-out events for a new product, that targeted high net worth individuals and created more than 500 new leads.

References: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/c-suite-insights/ceo-survey.html

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In today’s world of relentless volatility, geopolitical tension and economic uncertainty, many companies have spent the last few years focused on survival—restructuring operations, building resilience and navigating crisis after crisis. But now, a new challenge is emerging: undervaluation. 

Across global markets, undervaluation is a striking trend. In the U.S., small-value stocks are trading nearly 25% below their fair value, signalling untapped potential. In Europe, countries like the Netherlands and Denmark show discounts of 10–14%, while even large-cap firms in Germany, France and the UK remain undervalued—particularly in sectors like industrial tech, digital trust, and cybersecurity. Meanwhile, in Asia, many companies—especially in technology, logistics, and industrials—are trading at 40–50% below estimated fair value, despite strong fundamentals and growth prospects.

Why? Because the market doesn’t always see what you see. And that’s not just a financial issue—it’s a strategic one. 

Three Gaps That are Holding you Back 

At the heart of this undervaluation lie three critical gaps: 

The Valuation Gap 

Short-term decisions, reactive strategies, or misunderstood pivots can obscure long-term potential. When the market doesn’t grasp your trajectory, your valuation suffers. 

The Differentiation Gap 

Your value proposition may no longer be clear or compelling. Assets are in place, but the dots aren’t connected. Your competitive edge isn’t obvious—internally or externally. 

The Narrative Gap 

Somewhere along the way, the story of what makes your company exciting, unique, and future-ready has faded. Teams lose clarity. Investors lose confidence. Momentum stalls. 

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s time to take a step back—not to rebrand, but to rethink your Story of Value. 
 

What is a Story of Value? 

This isn’t about marketing claims or slick campaigns. A Story of Value is a strategic narrative that articulates the true, enduring value your company creates—today and tomorrow. It’s a unifying force that aligns leadership, energizes teams and restores market confidence. 

A well-crafted Story of Value: 

• Clarifies what your company is capable of 
• Defines where you can play and how you can win 
• Inspires belief across stakeholders—from boardrooms to frontlines 
• Becomes a catalyst for growth, innovation and cultural transformation 

Why it Matters Now 

Without a sharp, distinctive, and inspiring Story of Value, growth becomes harder. Teams hesitate. Investors question. Opportunities slip away. 

But with it? You unlock a new wave of momentum. You simplify complexity into a compelling, credible, and actionable narrative. You speak a common language that wins in the market. 

What you Gain 

Rewriting your Story of Value often leads to: 

• New growth opportunities you haven’t seen before
• Cultural shifts that align with your future ambitions 
• Brand strategy alignment that supports your next chapter 

How it Works 

The process is both rigorous and inspiring. It includes: 

1. Asset Inventory: A deep dive into your tangible and intangible assets—client-facing capabilities, operational strengths, cultural mindsets and more.
2. Strategic & Messaging Frameworks: A structured methodology to crystallize your Story of Value, grounded in data, co-created with stakeholders, and validated through market testing. 

Depending on your organization’s size and complexity, this journey takes four–12 weeks. We combine classical analysis, stakeholder interviews, co-creation workshops, and proprietary AI tools to ensure a 360° view—inside-out and outside-in. 

The Outcome 

You walk away with more than a story or strategic framework. Working with us will provide you with: 

• A practical, execution-ready strategy 
• A unifying, high-touch leadership experience 
• A renewed sense of purpose and direction 

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In competitive business landscape, an inefficient product portfolio can significantly impact a company’s bottom line. Our experience shows that companies lacking a customer-centric product portfolio strategy and failing to manage their portfolios proactively can lose up to five percent in product margin. Moreover, these companies often incur 10-20% higher portfolio management costs than their peers who prioritize product portfolio management.  

The Foundation of an Efficient Product Portfolio: Understanding Your Customers 

A successful product portfolio strategy starts with a deep understanding of your customers. It’s crucial to know: 

• What customer segments are there? What are their goals and needs? 
• How do they choose products? What dimensions influence their decisions? 
• What is important to them? Are we prioritizing features based on an “inside-out mindset” rather than actual customer preferences? 
• What are the decision-making hierarchies? Which aspects come first, second, and third in their buying process? 

The answers to these questions should shape how you structure, build, and rationalize your product portfolio. They also guide how you allocate marketing budgets and internal resources, design packaging, organize store layouts, and structure your website. 

In this article, we share our thinking on how to create a customer-centric Portfolio strategy, using our Efficient Portfolio Model (Exhibit A.)   

Exhibit A

The Pitfalls of an “Inside-Out Mindset” 

Many companies falter by adopting an “inside-out mindset,” in which internal perceptions and engineering priorities drive product development. For instance, engineers might focus on technical features that seem crucial from a development standpoint but are not key factors in customer decisions. This approach often leads to overly complex portfolios that are hard for customers to navigate, potentially hampering sales and driving up management costs. And when the inevitable portfolio rationalization comes about, they rely on rough rules of thumb such as the 80/20 rule to remove the long-tail, rather than using customer-centric criteria.  

Aligning Product Development with Customer Needs 

Successful companies start with a thorough understanding of customer needs and behaviors, which inform the critical product dimensions. Customer research is essential to identify these “drivers of choice.” Effective methodologies we recommend include: Contextual Inquiry, in which participants are observed while they perform tasks and describe what they are doing; and Discrete Choice Modeling, in which the importance of different product dimensions, such as brand, price, size, and specific features, are quantified. 

By identifying choice dimensions and mapping them on a matrix, companies can analyze the market to identify key volume and value pockets, as well as growing or declining niches. Comparing the existing portfolio against these matrices allows companies to determine which products to keep and prioritize, which to potentially discontinue, and where new opportunities lie. This strategy provides long-term guidance and direction for R&D teams on where to focus future product development. 

Case Study: Streamlining for Success 

For one of our FMCG clients, a detailed analysis revealed that 80% of the sales volume and value in their category were concentrated in three product hotspots across most markets. Based on this insight, we developed a product portfolio strategy that emphasized a “core” portfolio focusing on these hotspots. Additionally, we suggested an “excite” range of propositions to complement the core products, driving customer engagement and creating a buzz (Exhibit B.)

Exhibit B

Portfolio deployment guidelines were then developed to help markets roll out the product portfolio in the most impactful and efficient ways, depending on their specific context (e.g. new vs established markets, competitive intensity, etc.) (Exhibit C.)

Exhibit C

Leveraging Multi-Brand Strategies for Efficiency 

For companies managing multiple brands, this analytical approach can also identify opportunities for efficiency. By defining clearer roles for each brand in terms of the product territories they cover, companies can streamline their portfolios, potentially migrating propositions to align better with brand strengths and market opportunities. 

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