It's easy to miss many innovations in strategy until they appear on the
front page of a major business publication. But by then
everyone--including all your competitors--is using them.
As a CEO or senior executive, your job is to detect these strategies?and
implement them--before your competitors.
That's where this book comes in.
Author George Stalk has often been called a guru of business strategy.
In the 1980s, before anyone else saw its importance, he and his
colleagues at The Boston Consulting Group developed the concept of
time-based competition: how meeting the needs of your customers faster
than your competitors can give you an unassailable advantage.
In this Memo to the CEO, Stalk discusses five strategies that have not
yet become widely practiced but are nonetheless worthy of your attention
now. He offers advice on how to identify and manage them while they
still present opportunities to jump ahead of the competition. They are:
Addressing supply chain deficiencies
One example of a supply chain crisis is the growing lack of West Coast
port capacity. Stalk reviews the strategic implications of this problem,
reveals its impact, and recommends specific courses of action.
Sidestepping economies of scale
Many business leaders are reexamining their assumptions about the
benefits of scale. Scaling down, not up, and building disposable
factories and even disposable strategies are becoming new keys to
lowering costs and boosting performance.
Profiting from dynamic pricing
Today, using real-time data, it is increasingly possible to match the
price of your product or service with the immediate, second-by-second
needs of the customer.
Embracing complexity
Simplicity is the mantra of the day. But with examples from a few
leading-edge companies, Stalk shows that embracing complexity can
achieve competitive advantage.
Utilizing infinite bandwidth
In a world of infinite bandwidth, companies that know how to take
advantage of it become more productive, efficient, and profitable, and
create entirely new businesses along the way.
Written in a refreshingly clear, concise format, Five Future Strategies
You Need Right Now is filled with actionable ideas for seizing these
emerging strategic opportunities.
