The Bain Results Brief, a bi-monthly electronic newsletter for senior executives, features practical strategies to help management make the big decisions: on strategy, operations, mergers & acquisitions, technology, and organization.

Please contact us with any questions or comments at: resultsbrief@bain.com

Winning in emerging markets
June 2008
by Satish Shankar and Vijay Vishwanath
As growth slows in the mature markets of North America and Western Europe, some consumer goods companies have figured out how to tap into the purchasing power of a newly prosperous and growing middle class in emerging markets. The rewards can be substantial; in some product categories, growth there is three times that of developed markets. While each market requires different adaptations, the emerging market leaders share six common practices. What does it take to win?

To learn more about emerging markets, read "How to win in emerging markets" (MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2008) by Satish Shankar, Charles Ormiston, Nicolas Bloch, Robert Schaus, and Vijay Vishwanath.

View a slide presentation on emerging markets

The four laws of breakthrough results
April 2008
by Mark Gottfredson, Steve Schaubert and Hernan Saenz
The pressure to perform is familiar to most CEOs these days. Fully 40 percent of new CEOs last less than two years. Leaders of fast turnarounds start by systematically determining the business's current condition. That diagnosis, typically guided by four fundamental laws of business, enables them to gain a deep understanding of the point of departure. They next map out a realistic point of arrival, using the same four laws. Finally, they craft a few vital initiatives that will get them where they need to go.

To learn more about The Breakthrough Imperative: How the Best Managers Get Outstanding Results, go to www.thebreakthroughimperative.com.

View a slide presentation by Hernan Saenz on implementing the Performance Improvement Diagnostic^SM
Watch a video of Mark Gottfredson and Steve Schaubert describing how the four laws have helped CEOs and general managers craft the vital initiatives that put them on the road to results

Lessons from Private Equity Any Company Can Use
February 2008
by Orit Gadiesh and Hugh MacArthur
Private equity masters follow a basic set of disciplines that any senior executive can employ for similar results. Some of these lessons will sound familiar. Some may appear obvious. However, in our view, they are not being applied rigorously by businesses around the world. It is easier to do "fine" than to do the best a company can do. This pervasive disease of satisfactory underperformance can be cured by applying PE lessons.

To learn more about how to master the disciplines of private equity, read Memo to the CEO: Lessons from Private Equity Any Company Can Use, published by Harvard Business Press in January 2008.

View an audio slideshow on how to apply these private equity lessons
Watch a video of Hugh MacArthur, head of Bain's Global Private Equity Practice, describing private equity lessons that have helped the top PE firms outperform the best public companies