---
title: Extraordinary Items - Definition & Examples | RGM® Glossary
url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/extraordinary-items/
updated: 2026-06-10
source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/extraordinary-items/
---

Growth Glossary — Definition

SHT EXTRAORDINARY-

# Extraordinary Items

Highly unusual, infrequent items (rarely used post-2015) A working definition from the RGM marketing glossary.

Highly unusual, infrequent items (rarely used post-2015)

Term
:   Extraordinary Items

Field
:   Finance

Category
:   Finance & Unit Economics

## Definition in plain terms

Hold that thought.Extraordinary Items is a unit-economics concept. Fix what it covers before the team debates tactics, and the rest of the conversation gets easier.

Highly unusual, infrequent items (rarely used post-2015)

Extraordinary Items belongs to Finance & Unit Economics and refers to a unit-economics concept. A shared definition keeps the team aligned.

## The mechanics

One idea, plainly put.Extraordinary Items is no fixed dial. How it behaves depends on your audience, your channel mix, and the strategy around it.

Extraordinary Items behaves unlike a fixed rule. An early-stage brand and a mature one will apply Extraordinary Items on different terms. The mechanics follow the inputs around it. Treat Extraordinary Items as a buzzword and the reporting misleads; agree on it and the numbers hold.

Keep the order simple: define Extraordinary Items for your context, then decide how to act. Reverse it and the budget chases a number nobody agreed on. Start here.

## When it matters

One idea, plainly put.Use Extraordinary Items when it changes a choice. If it is not driving a decision, it is vocabulary, not leverage.

Extraordinary Items matters at the point of a decision. In finance & unit economics, three moments come up again and again. Outside them, Extraordinary Items is reference material.

1. **Setting budget.** Extraordinary Items clarifies which budget line deserves more.
2. **Choosing a metric.** Extraordinary Items reveals if the metric measures real impact.
3. **Comparing options.** Extraordinary Items keeps a head-to-head from fooling the reader.

## A worked example

Look at it this way.The walk-through runs Extraordinary Items through work modeled on Dropbox, so the concept meets real constraints.

Consider Dropbox. Running a contribution-margin review, the team put Extraordinary Items at the center of the call. With a clean baseline and one fixed definition of Extraordinary Items, they read what moved: spend on a 4-month-payback segment was trimmed. The discipline is the lesson.

Example walk-through for Extraordinary Items -- figures illustrative, RGM analysis

| Stage | What the team did | What it bought |
| Baseline | Read the starting point before any change to Extraordinary Items. | A reference to judge against. |
| Define | Agreed a single definition of Extraordinary Items. | No room for scope drift. |
| Act | A contribution-margin review — one variable. | Only one thing moved. |
| Result | Spend on a 4-month-payback segment was trimmed | A call backed by the read. |

Treat the Extraordinary Items figures as illustrative, labeled RGM analysis. Reuse the sequence, not the digits.

## Mistakes worth avoiding

Hold that thought.Four failure modes recur with Extraordinary Items. Name them and they are easy to design around.

- **One-size thinking.** Using Extraordinary Items flat across every segment. The right cut differs by channel and margin.
- **No anchor.** Quoting Extraordinary Items without a starting point. Always pair it with a baseline.
- **Vanity focus.** Gaming Extraordinary Items instead of the result. Tie it to business value.
- **Apples to oranges.** Comparing Extraordinary Items across firms raw. Adjust for pricing and cycle before you read it.

## Common questions

What is Extraordinary Items?

Highly unusual, infrequent items (rarely used post-2015) Settle what Extraordinary Items covers first; the strategy follows from there.

What makes Extraordinary Items worth knowing?

Extraordinary Items matters because vague vocabulary breaks strategy. A precise, shared definition keeps a team aligned.

Where does Extraordinary Items get used?

Extraordinary Items supports a real choice: where money goes, what gets measured, which option wins. The Dropbox case traces it.

What is the most common mistake with Extraordinary Items?

Treating Extraordinary Items as one blanket rule and reporting it with no baseline. Both hide a soft assumption.

Where can I learn more about Extraordinary Items?

Follow the related terms below, and read up on CAC payback periods, plus incrementality testing.

What is Extraordinary Items?
:   Highly unusual, infrequent items (rarely used post-2015) Settle what Extraordinary Items covers first; the strategy follows from there.

What makes Extraordinary Items worth knowing?
:   Extraordinary Items matters because vague vocabulary breaks strategy. A precise, shared definition keeps a team aligned.

Where does Extraordinary Items get used?
:   Extraordinary Items supports a real choice: where money goes, what gets measured, which option wins. The Dropbox case traces it.

### Keep reading

### Related terms