Over the last two years I worked with leaders of organizations large and small on how to drive growth in our sluggish economy, putting me in the position to see what's working and what's not in private sector companies, public sector agencies, and associations of all kinds.

When I say growth I mean: (a) Increased profits, (b) Increases in revenue that will generate profits in the near term - for example, following an upfront investment or due to a predictable, favorable change in the market like the massive distribution of iPads taking place this Xmas - or (c) Increases in market penetration that will generate increased profits. This last version of growth is what I call a gateway action because it opens the way to new sources of profit.

There is a dramatic difference between those organizations that are growing aggressively and those who are not. The latter group is hunkering down, hoping to weather the storm.  Instead of driving expansion they are becoming marginalized, receding into the background, and as a consequence facing commoditization - not an enviable position.

Here's the deal. As long as the economy is sluggish, we are actually experiencing an Opportunity Window. This window happens anytime satisfaction dips into the negative zone (see my graphic below), meaning your customers are dissatisfied. They can be dissatisfied for quantitative reasons as when their margins or volume are down. But it is just as valuable an opportunity when they are dissatisified qualitatively, meaning they are pessimistic or upset.

You see, when customers are dissatisfied, they want things to be other than they are and that is exactly the energy you can leverage to create new kinds of value. Their dissatisfaction is one of the necessary precursors to a favorable economy. The other is that you figure out how to generate that value through growth.

Keep in mind, the early stages of this value opportunity mean that the market as a whole does not recognize the opportunity. But, you will because you are making use of the opportunity window...