00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page iii BLUEPRINT BILLION A O T 7 ESSENTIALS TO ACHIEVE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH David G.Thomson John Wiley & Sons,Inc. 00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page ii 00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page a Additional Praise for Blueprint to a Billion “The Blueprint not only gives me confidence that even mature industries can find growth, it provides a road map for all business leaders to follow.” —Mike Petrak, VPMarketing, Knight Ridder, Inc. “Provides nonprofit leaders with exciting approaches to create a vibrant, growing organization. Utilizing the 7 Essentials approach, Thomson has identified practical guidelines and tools to achieve transformation and growth of an organization. This is a significant new resource for social sector leaders.” —Frances Hesselbein, Chairman, Leader to Leader Institute, formerly The Drucker Foundation 00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page b 00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page i BLUEPRINT BILLION A O T 00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page ii 00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page iii BLUEPRINT BILLION A O T 7 ESSENTIALS TO ACHIEVE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH David G.Thomson John Wiley & Sons,Inc. 00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page iv Copyright © 2006 by David G. Thomson. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically dis- claim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Blueprint to a Billion, Marquee Customer, and The Essentials Triangle are trademarks owned by David G. Thomson. For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley prod- ucts, visit our Web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Thomson, David G. Blueprint to a billion : 7 essentials to achieve exponential growth / David G. Thomson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-471-74747-5 (cloth) ISBN-10: 0-471-74747-5 (cloth) 1. Corporations—Growth. 2. Industrial management. I. Title. HD2746.T56 2006 658—dc22 2005019111 Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page v This book is dedicated to my family. I am especially thankful to my wife, Eileen, and our four children—Christine, Allison, Julie, and Kevin. I am blessed to have their love, which allowed me to take special family time to research and write this book. Also, I am very thankful for my parents’support and contribution. 00 thomson fm 10/27/05 2:44 PM Page vi