Benjamin franklin once said: “Drive thy business or it will drive thee.” This statement is true for any business in any industry and it is vital to understanding the concept of business growth. No business wants to go stale or get into a rut. Executives want to continually drive business growth, optimize profits, and ultimately be the best.

Webster's Dictionary defines growth as “an increase in size, number, value or strength.” The next entry, for a growth company, is: “a company whose rate of growth markedly exceeds that of the average in its field or the overall rate of economic growth.” Many believe that growth at large companies is difficult and more often than not these organizations “hit the growth wall” or become victims of their own size. While some companies do meet such a demise, Siemens Medical Solutions (MED) has been able to transform its business strategy, processes, and culture to overcome financial and industry downturns and drive sustained profitable growth (Knowledge@Emory, 2003).

Company background

MED is part of the global electronics leader, Siemens AG, which ranks first among the world's electronics and electrical equipment companies, with €74 billion in sales and more than 425,000 employees.

MED has a long history in the healthcare industry that dates back to 1877 when Erwin Mortiz Reiniger started manufacturing medical devices at the company's headquarters in Erlangen, Germany.