HOW IDEALS POWER GROWTH AND

GROW: PROFIT AT THE WORLD'S GREATEST

COMPANIES

ACTIONABLE BOOK SUMMARY BY

OMAR M. KHATEEB
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
▸ Jim is the former Global Marketing Officer of $84 billion Procter & Gamble, where he oversaw an $8
billion advertising budget and had organizational responsibility for nearly 7,000 people. P&G sales
doubled during Jim’s tenure as GMO. Highly regarded, his leadership was recognized in 2008 when P&G
was honored as the 2008 Cannes International Advertising Festival Advertiser of the Year for the first time
in company history.

▸ Jim was recognized in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007 by Advertising Age as the number one “Power
Player” in marketing. In 2005, he was recognized as Grand Marketer of the Year by Brandweek magazine,
the same year P&G was named Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age magazine. Jim was named to the
first-ever Fortune Executive Dream Team in 2011.
WHY GROW IS A GREAT BOOK

▸ Stengel’s research—including a ten-year growth study of

more than 50,000 brands around the world—has inspired
and validated an action framework we call the “Ideal Tree.”

▸ By operating according to the principles in this framework,

the world’s best businesses achieve growth rates triple
those of competitors, and they outperform the market by
400%.
TEXT
WHAT IS A BRAND IDEAL?

▸ The central principle of the Ideal Tree framework is the

Brand Ideal, a shared goal of improving people’s lives. A
brand ideal is a business’s essential reason for being, the
higher-order benefit it brings to the world.

▸ Why a tree? Because businesses and their brands are

living things. They have roots that people do not see. They
thrive given the right conditions—and they die without
care, feeding, and positive energy.
A BRAND IDEAL OF IMPROVING PEOPLE’S LIVES
IS THE ONLY SUSTAINABLE WAY TO RECRUIT,
UNITE, AND INSPIRE ALL THE PEOPLE A
BUSINESS TOUCHES, FROM EMPLOYEES TO
CUSTOMERS.

Jim Stengel
on the “Ideal Factor”
WHAT DO THE BEST BUSINESS LEADERS DO?

▸ Discover a brand ideal of improving people’s lives in one

of five fields of fundamental human values.

▸ Build their organizational culture around the brand ideal.

▸ Communicate the brand ideal to engage employees and

customers.

▸ Deliver a near-ideal customer experience.

▸ Evaluate their progress and people against brand ideal.

THE STENGEL STUDY OF BUSINESS GROWTH.

▸ If you stop leading change, however, you stop leading.

And if an organization stops changing and growing, it
becomes vulnerable to competition.

▸ Benchmarking against the best performers resets your

standards and challenges your growth assumptions.

▸ ALL businesses go through tough times, and the most

important step to surviving them and coming out stronger
is often renewing brand ideals.
THE 4 PROFOUND
FINDINGS FROM THE
STENGEL STUDY:
BRAND IDEALS DRIVE THE
PERFORMANCE OF THE HIGHEST
GROWTH BUSINESSES

Finding #1 of Stengel Study

THE HIGHEST GROWTH BUSINESSES ARE
RUN BY BUSINESS ARTISTS, LEADERS
WHOSE PRIMARY MEDIUM IS BRAND
IDEALS.
Finding #2 of Stengel Study
ALL BUSINESS ARTISTS FOCUS ON
OPERATING SYSTEMS THAT GENERATE
AND SUSTAIN HIGH GROWTH.

Finding #3 of Stengel Study

 GREAT BRAND IDEALS FOCUS ON
1 OF 5
FIELDS OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN VALUES.

Finding #4 of Stengel Study

TEXT 5 FIELDS OF
FUNDAMENTAL
HUMAN VALUES
ELICITING JOY
-Activating experiences of happiness, wonder,
and limitless possibility.

Five Fields of Fundamental Human Values

ENABLING CONNECTION
-To enhance the ability of people to connect
with one another and the world in meaningful
ways.

Five Fields of Fundamental Human Values

INSPIRING EXPLORATION
- To help people explore new horizons and new
experiences.

Five Fields of Fundamental Human Values

PRIDE
-To give people increased confidence,
strength, security, and vitality.

Five Fields of Fundamental Human Values

IMPACTING SOCIETY
- Affecting society broadly, including by
challenging status quo and redefining categories.

Five Fields of Fundamental Human Values

TO GUIDE INDUSTRY-LEADING
GROWTH, BUSINESS ARTISTS AND
THEIR ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUALLY
ASK 4 QUESTIONS:
HOW WELL DO WE UNDERSTAND
THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST
IMPORTANT TO OUR FUTURE?
Industry Leading Business Artist
WHAT DO WE AND OUR BRAND STAND
FOR?

Industry Leading Business Artist

WHAT DO WE WANT TO STAND FOR?

Industry Leading Business Artist

“Business artists
excel in similar
practices that
constitute an
operating system
for generating and
sustaining high
growth.”
-Jim Stengel
TEXT

THE STENGEL TOP 50

BUSINESS ARTISTS IN THE STENGEL 50 EXCEL AT:

▸ Discovering, or rediscovering, a brand ideal in one of five

fields of fundamental human values.

▸ Building the business culture around the ideal.

▸ Communicating the ideal internally and externally to

engage employees and customers.

▸ Delivering a near-ideal customer experience.

▸ Evaluating business progress and people against the ideal.

 The Seed

THE PEOPLE THE BRAND SERVES: MAKE

SURE THE GROUP IS LARGE ENOUGH TO
MEET YOUR GOALS.
The Base and Roots
 Body of the Tree
POINTS OF DIFFERENCE- EMOTIONAL AND RATIONAL BENEFIT
POINTS OF PARITY- ELIMINATES A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Leaves of the Tree
5 THINGS YOU MUST DO:
▸ Must-DO # 1. Discover an ideal in one of five fields of
fundamental human values.

▸ Must-DO # 2. Build your culture around your ideal.

▸ Must-Do# 3. Communicate your ideal to engage your

employees and customers.

▸ Must-Do #4. Deliver a near-ideal customer experience.

▸ Must-do #5. Evaluate your progress and people against

your ideal.
GO FIND YOUR SEED,
PLANT IT,
AND
GROW YOUR IDEAL.

Johnny Appleseed