In the world of digital business, the line between strategy and tactics is blurring. Traditionally large companies would adopt strategic frameworks which planned over three- to five-year timescales, while most digital start-ups had little interest in comprehensive and rigorous strategic processes and simply set themselves vision and worked out how to get there along the way.In today's digital economy even large companies are finding that their planning horizons are being measured i...

Chris is a founder of OC&C Strategy Consultants. In more than 20 years of strategy consulting, he has addressed the full range of strategic issues from corporate strategy to divisional operational performance, embracing mergers & acquisitions and organisational advice. Chris has board experience on both sides of the Atlantic, giving him the experience and ability to talk on an equal level with board members of client companies. He was awarded an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD.

Dear Friend,In 2008, my business ran into trouble. Staring at the abyss, just one payment away from bankruptcy, I contacted my accountant.I remember being sat at his reception, scared and completely despondent as I waited for him to call me in.I resembled the guys about to face the electric chair in the movies.When I explained situation, he shook his head as if to say you are toast.He advised that I closed shop and start afresh.For me the ide...

Competitive advantage. The value chain. Five forces. Industry structure. Differentiation. Relative cost. If you want to understand how companies achieve and sustain competitive success, Michael Porter’s frameworks are the foundation. But while everyone in business may know Porter’s name, many managers misunderstand and misuse his concepts.Understanding Michael Porter sets the record straight, providing the first concise, accessible summary of Porter’s revolutionar...

Stop pushing products—and start cultivating relationships with the right customers.If you read nothing else on marketing that delivers competitive advantage, read these 10 articles. We’ve combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you reinvent your marketing by putting it—and your customers—at the center of your business.Leading experts such as Ted Levitt and Clayt...

An argument for simplicity from the bestselling authors of Profit from the CoreIs radical reinvention the key to winning in today’s fast-paced world? Not judging by the results of some of the world’s best-performing companies.In Repeatability, Chris Zook and James Allen-leaders of Bain & Company’s influential Strategy practice-warn that complexity is a silent killer of profitable growth. Successful companies endure by maintaining simplicit...

In this practical and comprehensive workbook, Cheryl Rickman, offers a modern approach to self-employment and business start-up. Packed with real-life case studies and practical exercises, checklists and worksheets, it provides a step-by-step guide to researching and formulating your business ideas, planning the right marketing strategies, and managing a team that will drive your vision forward with you. You'll discover what, with hindsight, well-known entrepreneurs would have done differe...

All the business wisdom in the world doesn’t matter if it doesn’t produce results. Whether your business is humming along fine or struggling to stay afloat, your company has more potential than the results show.Brian Tracy has worked with more than 500 companies throughout the US, Canada, and 22 other countries. He has helped hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to achieve spectacular results, and now he is helping businesses reach new levels of success in thi...

A practical introduction to the necessity of competitive intelligence for smarter business decisions-from a leading CI expert and speakerIn Competitive Intelligence Advantage, Seena Sharp, founder of one of the first Competitive Intelligence firms in the US, provides her expert analysis on the issues and benefits of CI for today's businesses. CI is critical for making smarter business decisions and reducing risks when formulating strategies, leading to more profits and few...

Brand Pretorius knows what it means to be a leader: he was at the head of Toyota South Africa during its heyday, and took over as chief executive at the McCarthy Group. He knows that leadership means making hard and unpopular decisions with an eye on the long term. He writes about his four decades in business and the lessons he learnt. He illustrates his lessons on leadership with tales from his highly regarded career in motoring, like how it feels to be in a Formula 1 racing car with one ...

The bestselling author of The Loyalty Leap applies the principles of customer intimacy to a business-to-business context. Since the publication of New York Times bestseller The Loyalty Leap, Bryan Pearson’s customer loyalty approach to marketing has changed the way many organizations use their customer data. Small coffee shops and large corporations have applied the Loyalty Leap principles to effectively deliver mutual value to customers. But many readers have asked the same question: “How...

Doreen Pendgracs has sat on various boards of directors for the past twenty-five years. During that time, she has gleaned valuable information that she shares in an easy-to-understand, conversational style for novices and seasoned members alike. Whether you're asked to sit on a trade union board, a non-profit board for a community group or church, a business-focused board of an association or chamber of commerce, or the board of a charitable organization, Before You Say Yes ... gi...