Accelerating Performance by Colin Price & Sharon Toye Summary
Overview of Accelerating Performance
In "Accelerating Performance," Price and Toye reveal how top companies achieve agility - not just speed. What makes McKinsey's research groundbreaking? Their counterintuitive finding that "soft stuff" like culture drives hard results, transforming how industry titans approach leadership in volatile markets.
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Key takeaways
Why Most Companies Move Like Glaciers While Others Sprint Like Startups
What separates a company worth $437 from one worth $211 after seven years? It's not luck, timing, or even industry choice. When researchers tracked 23 "superaccelerator" companies against their peers, they discovered something that should make every executive uncomfortable: the difference wasn't about having better technology or smarter strategy. These elite performers had cracked a code that eludes most organizations as they grow - they'd figured out how to stay fast while getting big. Think about it: we've all watched nimble startups get acquired by corporate giants, only to see their innovation engine sputter and die within months. The culprit? Organizational gravity. As companies scale, they naturally accumulate layers, committees, approval processes, and cultural barnacles that slow everything down. But what if it didn't have to be this way? What if large organizations could maintain the hunger and agility of their startup days? That's exactly what this research reveals - and the formula is surprisingly counterintuitive. Walk through London's financial district and you're surrounded by monuments to organizational failure. BP's $65 billion Deepwater Horizon disaster didn't happen because of bad engineering - it happened because safety warnings were routinely ignored in a culture obsessed with cost-cutting. The BBC's decades-long abuse scandal persisted not due to lack of information, but because "rigid management chains" made accountability impossible. Barclays and HSBC paid billions for ethical violations rooted in cultures that worshipped short-term profits above all else. Here's the uncomfortable truth: these weren't isolated incidents. They're symptoms of a deeper disease that infects organizations when "the actors become more important than the audience" - when institutions start serving themselves rather than their customers. For decades, executives have dismissed organizational culture as "the soft stuff," something to address after hitting financial targets. But this thinking is backwards. Culture isn't separate from performance - it's the invisible architecture that determines whether your strategy succeeds or fails.
The Culture Crisis and Private Equity's Acceleration Laboratory
Embracing Uncertainty and the Power of Vision Over Planning
The Thirteen Levers That Separate Winners From Laggards
Why Most Teams Fail Before They Start
Choosing Your Acceleration Recipe and Mastering It
Moving at the Speed of Change
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From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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