Compete Smarter, Not Harder: A Process for Developing the Right Priorities Through Strategic Thinking

Compete Smarter, Not Harder: A Process for Developing the Right Priorities Through Strategic Thinking

Released November 2013
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118708712

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Book description

How to compete in the right space for greater profitability and growth

The Internet, mobile technology, the ubiquity of information and the availability of big data have dramatically increased the speed and impact of success and failure. Companies today know that they must be competitive, but precisely where, and more importantly how, to compete is not always easy to identify—until now. Compete Smarter, Not Harder explains how to prioritize market opportunities so that a company's strengths in one area can be leveraged across multiple markets. Using cutting-edge academic research and extensive industry practice, author William Putsis outlines the strategic decisions needed to determine which space provides the best margins, overall profitability, and growth potential.

  • Details a step-by-step process for strategic prioritization, from strategic market selection to the tactics of execution, providing competitive advantage across markets

  • Written by Doctor William Putsis, a professor of marketing, economics, and business strategy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has consulted and led executive development efforts with leading companies throughout the world

    • Prioritize with conviction. Make absolutely sure that all of your hard work goes toward the right space.

    Table of contents

    1. Cover Page
    2. Title Page
    3. Copyright
    4. Contents
    5. Front
    6. Introduction
    7. CHAPTER 1: The Importance of Fundamentals
      1. Chapter Summary and Key Business Principles
      2. Key Business Tools
    8. CHAPTER 2: Finding the Right Market Opportunities
      1. TDS—A Transition to the Publishing Supply Chain of Today
      2. MP3.com, Apple, Sony and Lessons Learned Today
      3. Chapter Summary and Key Business Principles
      4. Key Business Tools
    9. CHAPTER 3: Managing the Risk of Growth
      1. Chapter Summary and Key Business Principles
      2. Key Business Tools
    10. CHAPTER 4: Choosing and Competing Effectively in the Right Space
      1. The Story of the Agricultural Chemical Manufacturer and the Helicopter Pilot
      2. Legacy Frameworks: The Industry's Supply Chain
      3. Key Points in Developing a Strategic Control Point
      4. Expanding along the Value Chain Follows a Classic Process
      5. Chapter Summary and Key Business Principles
      6. Key Business Tools
    11. CHAPTER 5: Targeting the Right Customers in the Right Space with the Right Offering
      1. The Story of Henry Ford and the Vagabonds
      2. Nike's Beachhead Strategies—Getting to the Key Segments and Following the Money
      3. American Express and the Strategic Implications of Segmentation Choice
      4. Chapter Summary and Key Business Principles
      5. Some General Rules to Remember
      6. Key Business Tools
    12. CHAPTER 6: Understanding Your Customers in the Right Space
      1. Choice Analysis and Customer Insight, Quantified
      2. Chapter Summary and Key Business Principles
      3. Key Business Tools
    13. CHAPTER 7: Vertical Incentive Alignment and Asset Specificity
      1. Virtual Vertical Integration
      2. Chapter Summary and Key Business Principles
      3. Key Business Tools
    14. CHAPTER 8: Setting Tactics in Today's Environment
      1. The Story of the Whaling Ship Essex . . . Why What You Know May Be More Dangerous than What You Don't
      2. Points of Positioning
      3. Points in Time—Offering Timing
      4. Points of Value—Value Extraction Considerations
      5. Winner's Curse
      6. Points of Access—Strategic Barriers to Entry and the Story of Blockbuster
      7. Points of Touch—The Embodiment of Your Strategy
      8. Chapter Summary and Key Business Principles
      9. Key Business Tools
    15. CHAPTER 9: What Is So Different about Today? Conclusions and Lessons for the Future
      1. Speed
      2. Interconnectedness
      3. Ubiquity (Mobile)
      4. Always On
    16. NOTES
      1. Introduction
      2. Chapter 1 The Importance of Fundamentals
      3. Chapter 2 Finding the Right Market Opportunities
      4. Chapter 3 Managing the Risk of Growth
      5. Chapter 4 Choosing and Competing Effectively in the Right Space
      6. Chapter 5 Targeting the Right Customers in the Right Space with the Right Offering
      7. Chapter 6 Understanding Your Customers in the Right Space
      8. Chapter 7 Vertical Incentive Alignment and Asset Specificity
      9. Chapter 8 Setting Tactics in Today's Environment
      10. Chapter 9 What Is So Different about Today? Conclusions and Lessons for the Future
    17. INDEX

    Product information

    • Title: Compete Smarter, Not Harder: A Process for Developing the Right Priorities Through Strategic Thinking
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: November 2013
    • Publisher(s): Wiley
    • ISBN: 9781118708712