When Profit from the Core was published in 2001, it became an
international bestseller, helping hundreds of companies find their way
back to profitable growth after the bursting of the Internet bubble.
The 2007 global financial meltdown reaffirmed the perils of pursuing
heady growth through untested strategies, as firms in industries from
finance to retailing to automobiles strayed too far from their core
businesses and suffered the consequences. In this updated edition of
Profit from the Core, authors Chris Zook and James Allen show that a
renewed focus on the core is more critical than ever as firms seek to
rebuild their competitive advantage coming out of the downturn--and that
a strong core will be the foundation for successful expansion as the
economy recovers.
Based on more than ten years of Bain & Company research and analysis and
fresh examples from firms responding to the current downturn, the book
outlines what today's executives and managers need to do now to
revitalize their core, identify the next wave of profitable growth, and
build on it successfully. Zook and Allen explain how companies can:
- Develop a strong, well-defined core and use it to establish a
leadership position
- Follow the golden rule of strategy: discourage competitors from
investing in your core
- Assess whether your core is operating at its full potential
- Uncover hidden assets in your core that provide the seeds for new
growth
- Find a repeatable formula to apply core business strengths in adjacent
markets
Building on powerful and proven ideas to meet today's formidable
business challenges, Profit from the Core is the back-to-basics
strategy field guide no manager should be without.
