Four/Five Steps to Successful Growth

Jennifer at What's Your Brand Mantra links to a CIO Insight column that offers four steps to successful corporate growth and she adds an important fifth step. Here is my summary of the five steps:

1. Be clear on what your company’s purpose is, and on what it wants to accomplish as a corporation.
   
2. Is that purpose meaningful to your customers? (Jen's addition)
   
3. Be clear on what strengths your company has that can be leveraged to achieve that purpose and those accomplishments.
   
4. What might your company add in terms of new product lines, acquisitions or capabilities?
   
5. Determine what products, product lines or companies must be shed because they lie outside the corporate purpose or strengths.