Beyond Performance

Beyond Performance
Author: Scott Keller
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2011-06-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1118097467

The secret of achieving and sustaining organizational excellence revealed In an ever-changing world where only a third of excellent organizations stay that way over the long term, and where even fewer are able to implement successful change programs, leaders are in need of big ideas and new tools to thrive. In Beyond Performance, McKinsey & Company's Scott Keller and Colin Price give you everything you need to build an organization that can execute in the short run and has the vitality to prosper over the long term. Drawing on the most exhaustive research effort of its kind on organizational effectiveness and change management, Keller and Price put hard science behind their big idea: that the health of an organization is equally as important as its performance. In the book's foreword, management guru Gary Hamel refers to this notion as "a new manifesto for thinking about organizations." The authors illustrate why copying management best practices from other companies is more dangerous than helpful Clearly explains how to determine the mutually reinforcing combination of management practices that best fits your organization's context Provides practical tools to achieve superior levels of performance and health through a staged change process: aspire, assess, architect, act, and advance. Among these are new techniques for dealing with those aspects of human behavior that are seemingly irrational (and therefore confound even the smartest leaders), yet entirely predictable Ultimately, building a healthy organization is an intangible asset that competitors copy at their peril and that enables you to skillfully adapt to and shape your environment faster than others—giving you the ultimate competitive advantage.

Competitive Advantage

Competitive Advantage
Author: Michael E. Porter
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2008-06-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1416595848

Now beyond its eleventh printing and translated into twelve languages, Michael Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations has changed completely our conception of how prosperity is created and sustained in the modern global economy. Porter’s groundbreaking study of international competitiveness has shaped national policy in countries around the world. It has also transformed thinking and action in states, cities, companies, and even entire regions such as Central America. Based on research in ten leading trading nations, The Competitive Advantage of Nations offers the first theory of competitiveness based on the causes of the productivity with which companies compete. Porter shows how traditional comparative advantages such as natural resources and pools of labor have been superseded as sources of prosperity, and how broad macroeconomic accounts of competitiveness are insufficient. The book introduces Porter’s “diamond,” a whole new way to understand the competitive position of a nation (or other locations) in global competition that is now an integral part of international business thinking. Porter's concept of “clusters,” or groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in particular locations, has become a new way for companies and governments to think about economies, assess the competitive advantage of locations, and set public policy. Even before publication of the book, Porter’s theory had guided national reassessments in New Zealand and elsewhere. His ideas and personal involvement have shaped strategy in countries as diverse as the Netherlands, Portugal, Taiwan, Costa Rica, and India, and regions such as Massachusetts, California, and the Basque country. Hundreds of cluster initiatives have flourished throughout the world. In an era of intensifying global competition, this pathbreaking book on the new wealth of nations has become the standard by which all future work must be measured.

The Advantage

The Advantage
Author: Patrick M. Lencioni
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2012-03-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1118266102

There is a competitive advantage out there, arguably more powerful than any other. Is it superior strategy? Faster innovation? Smarter employees? No, New York Times best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni, argues that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know and how smart they are and more to do with how healthy they are. In this book, Lencioni brings together his vast experience and many of the themes cultivated in his other best-selling books and delivers a first: a cohesive and comprehensive exploration of the unique advantage organizational health provides. Simply put, an organization is healthy when it is whole, consistent and complete, when its management, operations and culture are unified. Healthy organizations outperform their counterparts, are free of politics and confusion and provide an environment where star performers never want to leave. Lencioni’s first non-fiction book provides leaders with a groundbreaking, approachable model for achieving organizational health—complete with stories, tips and anecdotes from his experiences consulting to some of the nation’s leading organizations. In this age of informational ubiquity and nano-second change, it is no longer enough to build a competitive advantage based on intelligence alone. The Advantage provides a foundational construct for conducting business in a new way—one that maximizes human potential and aligns the organization around a common set of principles.

Creating Competitive Advantage

Creating Competitive Advantage
Author: Jaynie L. Smith
Publisher: Crown Currency
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2006-04-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0385518447

Why should I do business with you… and not your competitor? Whether you are a retailer, manufacturer, distributor, or service provider – if you cannot answer this question, you are surely losing customers, clients and market share. This eye-opening book reveals how identifying your competitive advantages and trumpeting them to the marketplace is the most surefire way to close deals, retain clients, and stay miles ahead of the competition. The five fatal flaws of most companies: ? They don’t have a competitive advantage but think they do ? They have a competitive advantage but don’t know what it is—so they lower prices instead ? They know what their competitive advantage is but neglect to tell clients about it ? They mistake “strengths” for competitive advantages ? They don’t concentrate on competitive advantages when making strategic and operational decisions The good news is that you can overcome these costly mistakes – by identifying your competitive advantages and creating new ones. Consultant, public speaker, and competitive advantage expert Jaynie Smith will show you how scores of small and large companies substantially increased their sales by focusing on their competitive advantages. When advising a CEO frustrated by his salespeople’s inability to close deals, Smith discovered that his company stayed on schedule 95 percent of the time – an achievement no one else in his industry could claim. By touting this and other competitive advantages to customers, closing rates increased by 30 percent—and so did company revenues. Jack Welch has said, “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” This straight-to-the-point book is filled with insightful stories and specific steps on how to pinpoint your competitive advantages, develop new ones, and get the message out about them. “The biggest marketing flaw in most companies is their failure to fully reap the benefits of their competitive advantages. Either they think they have a competitive advantage but don’t. Or they have one and don’t realize it. Or they know they have a strong competitive advantage but fail to promote it adequately to their customers and prospects. “In my research with middle-market companies, I found only two CEOs out of 1,000 who could clearly name their companies’ competitive advantages. The other 99.8 percent could offer only vague, imprecise generalities. These same CEOs often rely on outside consultants to guide strategic-planning sessions. Yet, in my experience, very few consultants – even seasoned ones – give competitive advantage evaluation more than a superficial glance…. “Ignoring your competitive advantages can be an expensive and even fatal mistake. Because no matter the size of your company or the kind of business you are in, your competitive advantages should be the foundation of all your strategic and operational decisions. They’re the reasons customers choose to buy from you instead of the other guy.” – From Creating Competitive Advantage

The Ultimate Competitive Advantage

The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
Author: Donald Mitchell
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2003
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781576751671

Using dozens of concrete examples, the authors define a single process that companies can use to perpetually stimulate new growth and profitability.

The Growth Advantage

The Growth Advantage
Author: Bob Lisser
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2022-05-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1538161737

Provides a blueprint for your company’s sustained and profitable growth. Let’s face it: sustained business growth doesn’t just happen. Growth must be planned for and executed, cultivated from a strategic standpoint and applied tactically at the frontline, led by the right people, and focused on the right objectives. The Growth Advantage provides a blueprint for sustained and profitable growth for any business. It is designed to help companies build the ultimate competitive edge. The book is broken into three parts that outline the Planning Advantage, the Execution Advantage, and the Company Advantage, which will help you align your company with its goals. The Growth Advantage cracks open the business secrets that teach companies how to achieve that dream of steady, predictable growth through effective planning and solid execution. Readers learn how their company can develop and sustain a blueprint for growth that guides company actions on a daily and weekly basis. Combining elements of culture, strategy, planning, execution, talent acquisition, training, motivation, accountability, and brand differentiation into one book with clear, actionable steps, Bob Lisser brings readers along a journey that starts with a plan and ends with success.

Beyond Competitive Advantage

Beyond Competitive Advantage
Author: Todd Zenger
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2016-05-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1633690016

A competitive advantage just isn't enough. Your company is turning in regular profits every year, and its market share is only getting bigger. Competitors can’t touch you. So why is your stock price so sluggish? The answer is as simple as it is cruel: investors aren’t interested in history, and they already know you’re profitable and competitive—that knowledge is baked into your stock price. The hard reality is that a competitive advantage just isn’t enough. Investors want companies to surprise them with unexpected value, which means that you can outperform market expectations only if you as a leader know how to find, create, and deliver a series of multiple competitive advantages. This is why a corporate theory is so important. A good corporate theory provides a compass for those at the strategic helm, guiding their decisions about what assets and activities to pursue, what investments to make, and what strategies to adopt. Behind every long-term corporate success story lies a basic theory about how that company creates value. In Beyond Competitive Advantage, strategy professor Todd Zenger describes what makes a great corporate theory and helps readers understand the many tensions and trade-offs they’ll face as they apply the theory to meet the challenge of market expectations. Based on years of research and analysis, Beyond Competitive Advantage provides managers and executives with a framework for both sustaining value and creating growth.

Connected Strategy

Connected Strategy
Author: Nicolaj Siggelkow
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2019-04-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1633697010

Business Models for Transforming Customer Relationships What if there were a way to turn occasional, sporadic transactions with customers into long-term, continuous relationships--while simultaneously driving dramatic improvements in operational efficiency? What if you could break your existing trade-offs between superior customer experience and low cost? This is the promise of a connected strategy. New forms of connectivity--involving frequent, low-friction, customized interactions--mean that companies can now anticipate customer needs as they arise, or even before. Simultaneously, enabled by these technologies, companies can create new business models that deliver more value to customers. Connected strategies are win-win: Customers get a dramatically improved experience, while companies boost operational efficiency. In this book, strategy and operations experts Nicolaj Siggelkow and Christian Terwiesch reveal the emergence of connected strategies as a new source of competitive advantage. With in-depth examples from companies operating in industries such as healthcare, financial services, mobility, retail, entertainment, nonprofit, and education, Connected Strategy identifies the four pathways--respond-to-desire, curated offering, coach behavior, and automatic execution--for turning episodic interactions into continuous relationships. The authors show how each pathway creates a competitive advantage, then guide you through the critical decisions for creating and implementing your own connected strategies. Whether you're trying to revitalize strategy in an established company or disrupt an industry as a startup, this book will help you: Reshape your connections with your customers Find new ways to connect with existing suppliers while also activating new sources of capacity Create the right revenue model Make the best technology choices to support your strategy Integrating rich examples, how-to advice, and practical tools in the form of "workshop chapters" throughout, this book is the ultimate resource for creating competitive advantage through connected relationships with your customers and redefined connections in your industry.

Business Process Outsourcing

Business Process Outsourcing
Author: Rick L. Click
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2004-11-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0471700975

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is becoming the new revolutionas company's of all sizes are seeking to take advantage of thissource of competitive advantage. This book provides a step-by-step approach to understanding theapplication of Business Process Outsourcing, assessing the BPOopportunity in the company, and then managing the transition toBPO. It serves as a guide to implementing BPO and as a referencesource to solving the variety of issues that may arise during a BPOinitiative. Each chapter features a case study, insight from apractitioner, focus on how BPO affects people, and ethicalconsiderations. * Discusses both the how and why of business process outsourcingwith a straightforward "how to" approach. * Provides managers with the tools to analyse the BPO opportunitiesfor their own firms, as well as techniques and strategies formanaging a BPO initiative. * Empowers businesses of all sizes to take advantage of thisall-encompassing business revolution.

Business Models

Business Models
Author: David Watson
Publisher: Harriman House Limited
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2005
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1897597584

Different Business Models is different from other investment books because it breaks new ground. It deploys 129 business models to empower an outside investor to analyse the internal competitive advantage of companies and sectors. Competitive advantage Strong competitive advantage is only achieved by having low costs and/or doing something different from the competition. This must add value to the customer, who then pays a premium price. He is glued to the company, which will earn dependable revenue streams and be in the profit zone. Key features . 64 company business models are scored for competitive advantage. They include moats, recurring revenues, product differentiation, bolt-on acquisitions and bargaining power. . 65 sector business models are scored for competitive advantage. They include recession resistance, must-have products, sticky customers, toll bridges and megatrends. . The economic cycle is the ultimate arbiter of investment success or failure. . Other important tools are growth at a reasonable price, technical analysis, scuttlebutting, accounting for growth and investment axioms. Conclusion Business Models unearths the best companies to outperform in a bull or bear market, giving investors a real advantage. They can correctly evaluate a company or sector in 15 minutes and emulate Warren Buffett, who uses business models to invest in companies with strong competitive advantage.