Harvard Business Review on Advances in Strategy [Paperback]

Harvard Business School Press (Compiler)

Book Description

Series: Harvard Business Review Paperback Series | Publication Date: May 7, 2002

The Harvard Business Review paperback series is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. Here are the landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organizations around the globe. Each volume contains a specially selected set of articles from Harvard Business Review and is designed to help you master an important management topic. Articles include: Strategy and the Internet by Michael Porter; Strategic Stories: How 3M is Rewriting Business Planning by Gordon Shaw, Robert Brown, and Philip Bromiley; Having Trouble with Your Strategy? Then Map It by Robert Kaplan and David Norton; Strategy as Simple Rules by Kathy Eisenhardt and Donald Sull; How Financial Engineering Can Advance Corporate Strategy by Peter Tufano; Transforming Corner Office Strategy in Frontline Action by Orit Gadiesh and James Gilbert; Where Value Lives in a Networked World by Mohanbir Sawhney and Deval Parikh; and The Super Efficient Company by Michael Hammer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Since 1984, Harvard Business School Press has been dedicated to publishing the most contemporary management thinking, written by authors and practitioners who are leading the way. Whether readers are seeking big-picture strategic thinking or tactical problem solving, advice in managing global corporations or for developing personal careers, HBS Press helps fuel the fire of innovative thought. HBS Press has earned a reputation as the springboard of thought for both established and emerging business leaders.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Press; 1 edition (May 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578518032
• ISBN-13: 978-1578518036
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,169,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some dated contextual material but rock-solid core concepts, September 13, 2006

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Advances in Strategy (Paperback)

Much of the contextual material in this volume is out-of-date, given the fact that the articles originally appeared in the Harvard Business Review years ago (2000-2001). However, I think the core concepts remain sound and provide a valuable frame-of-reference for understanding the advances in strategy which have occurred during the last five years. It is also worth noting that several of these articles were later developed into an especially important business book. For example, Robert Kaplan and David Norton's article, "Having Trouble with Your Strategy? Map It" which led to the writing of their book, Strategy Maps.

No brief commentary such as this can do full justice to the rigor and substance of the eight articles. It remains for each reader to examine the list to identify which subjects are of greatest interest to her or him. My own opinion is that all of the articles are first-rate. One of this volume's greatest benefits is derived from the fact that a variety of perspectives are provided by a number of different authorities on the same general subject. In this instance, "advances [to date] in strategy"

Readers will especially appreciate the provision of an executive summary which precedes each article. They facilitate, indeed expedite frequent review of key points which - presumably - careful readers either underline or highlight. Also of interest is the "About the Contributors" section which includes suggestions of other sources to consult. Here are questions which suggest key issues to which the authors of these articles respond:

Which Internet strategies can create robust competitive advantages based on traditional strengths such as unique products, proprietary content, and distinctive physical activities? (Michael Porter)

How and why did 3M rewrite its business planning with "strategic stories"? (Gordon Shaw, Robert Brown, and Philip Bromiley)

How to "map" a strategy? (Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton)

Which "simple rules" can help achieve competitive advantage in high-velocity markets? (Kathleen M. Eisenhardt and Donald N. Sull)

How can financial engineering help to advance corporate strategy? (Peter Tufano)

How to (and why) transform "corner-officer strategy" into front-line action? (Orit Gadiesh and James L. Gilbert)

Which patterns in network intelligence are reshaping industries and organizations? How? (Mohanbir Sawhney and Deval Parikh)

Which activities and goals used in streamlining cross-company processes can help to create "the super-efficient company"? (Michael Hammer)

Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out other "Harvard Business Review on..." volumes such as those on Becoming a High-Performance Manager, Change, Corporate Strategy, Decision Making, Effective Communication, the Innovative Enterprise, Leadership, and Measuring Corporate Performance.

Also Robert Kaplan and David Norton's The Strategy-Focused Organization, and Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through The Wilds of Strategic Management co-authored by Henry Mintzberg, Joseph Lampel, and Bruce Ahlstrand as well as Michael Porter's On Competition, Lawrence Hrebiniak's Making Strategy Work, and the recently published Success Built to Last co-authored by Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery, and Mark Thompson.