Most companies seek to outgrow their markets by 2X in revenue and 4X in profit. But growth is hard, and few reach their goals.

We call the successful companies sustained value creators—those that have outgrown and outearned their peers while returning their cost of capital.

Bain has looked extensively at what fuels the success of these companies. We have distilled what we have learned into five beliefs on strategy.

Sustained value creators are overwhelmingly leaders in at least one core business. Most of their growth comes from the core or one-step adjacencies—moves that are very close to the core.

The most successful companies evolve over time through a series of one-step moves based on a repeatable model. Using a repeatable model for expansion can double a company's success rate.