When it comes to seeking growth, some of the largest potential sales gains may lie right under your nose—in your existing business. Many managers think of their companies as something like a three-gallon bucket. Filling the bottom third is the current business: cash coming in from customers today. The rest will come from two growth opportunities: a gallon of revenues from new products or services and the final gallon of revenues from expanding into new markets. There's nothing wrong with this view, but it can present a big danger. By assuming that growth must come from the outside, companies miss less costly opportunities for preserving and expanding revenue already within their businesses. Here we describe how companies can develop the outside-in vantage point necessary to find and plug the biggest leaks.

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