Corporate-Level Strategy

"The quest for parenting advantage underlies the decision of successful multibusiness companies and distinguishes them from their less successful rivals."

"A parent that is well suited to address certain opportunities may be ill suited to address others."

"A parent that lacks a clear focus on value creation opportunities in its businesses is more likely to destroy value than to create it."

"Stand-alone parenting can be a major source of added value and performance improvement for the businesses. However, it can also seriously damage performance through inappropriate influence and excessive overhead costs."

"Enlightened self-interest can be distorted by common parental ownership."

"Despite the theoretical benefits from economies of scale and specialization central staffs are often less expert, less cost-effective, and less responsive than outside suppliers or than businesses' own departments."

"While the distinction between corporate development decisions and other areas of parenting influence is clear in principle, in practice there can be overlaps."

"Refinements to corporate strategy are taking place all the time in successful parent companies."

"The possession of unusually clear and powerful value creation insights is a vital difference between companies that achieve parenting advantage and those that do not."

"The review of corporate strategy may lead to changes either in the parent or in the portfolio of businesses."

"Successful companies build portfolios in which the large majority of businesses fall within the heartland."

"All new corporate strategies involve learning new parenting skills."

"The top managers in the parent are normally the dominant source of value creation or destruction."