Appendix A. Best Sellers Compared

Starting with Tom Peters and Robert Waterman's In Search of Excellence, there has been a spate of books that purport to provide managers with the secrets to sustained competitive advantage (SCA).[1]Jim Collins' and Jerry Porras' best-selling Built to Last is another work in this genre.

The problem with these books is that the prescriptions they make often are contradictory and one sided. On the one hand, they urge you to take bold steps and explore entirely new markets, technologies, and business models, or risk becoming extinct (Peters and Waterman). On the other hand, you are admonished not to divert your attention to things you know nothing about, and to take small, gradual steps to get better at what you currently ...

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