The way businesses create and sustain value is changing.
For much of the past decade, growth strategies were dominated by scale, speed, and efficiency. Expanding quickly, optimising cost, and capturing market share were often prioritised over operating discipline. While those levers remain important, they are no longer sufficient on their own.
In 2025, organisations that focused on long-term operating models and disciplined execution delivered up to 30% higher total shareholder returns than peers pursuing short-term optimisation alone (McKinsey & Company, 2025). This gap reflects a broader shift in how durable value is being created.
From Expansion to Execution
Across markets, complexity has increased. Customers are more demanding, regulatory environments are more nuanced, and technology is reshaping decision-making at speed. In this context, growth without operational coherence becomes fragile.
Research shows that companies with strong execution capabilities are twice as likely to translate strategy into sustained financial performance compared to those with weaker operating foundations (PwC, 2025). Execution, once viewed as an internal concern, is now a defining factor in long-term value creation.
Capital deployed without the ability to execute consistently struggles to compound. Capital paired with disciplined operations, by contrast, builds resilience.
Operating Models as a Source of Advantage
Operating models were once considered internal mechanics. Today, they are increasingly recognised as a source of competitive differentiation.
According to Deloitte, organisations with integrated operating models – aligning leadership, technology, and delivery – achieve 25–40% higher efficiency and are significantly better positioned to absorb change (Deloitte, 2025). These businesses tend to scale more predictably, protect margins more effectively, and respond faster to shifts in market conditions.
From an investor perspective, this matters. As growth becomes less linear and external volatility increases, predictability and resilience become critical drivers of value.
A Longer View of Value Creation
At Isher Capital, we view sustainable value as the outcome of thoughtful capital allocation combined with strong operating discipline. This means backing businesses that prioritise clarity of direction, accountability, and execution capability alongside ambition.
Evidence continues to suggest that long-term oriented organisations outperform peers not because they avoid growth, but because they pursue it with greater intent and structural strength (McKinsey & Company, 2025; PwC, 2025).
In an environment where uncertainty is becoming the norm, durability is no longer a secondary consideration – it is a core asset.