Customer Reviews

Hunter or Hunted?: Technology, Innovation and Competitive Strategy

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This book made my list of "books to keep around." The book is about making smart strategic business decisions when faced with technology choices, and gives you background on the key variables to consider. These include where standards are going, how industries evolve, likely responses by competitors, how consumers behave, and whether you create or lose leverage by innovating.

Since this book is written for MBA students, it deals with some fairly complex material in a compact way. The good news though is that Rochlin uses very easy to understand language, clear examples, and some interesting interviews to make this very readable.

I read and was impressed with "Platform Strategy" by Gawer and Cusumano, and found both represented well in this book (as were many other better known thought leaders.) The book uses numerous viewpoints to demonstrate and support the author's ideas on how to compete in technology markets, with some heavy doses of reality for those who have a romantic notion of life in high tech.

The evolution of competition over the lifecycle of a technology struck a chord, and the variety of examples - including discussions of nuclear power, hybrid cars, and blackberrys made for a compelling read. I also liked the interviews with venture capitalist Randy Komisar and Tivo inventor Jim Barton. It gets slightly too academic at points, but overall is one of the more useful strategy books I have read in a while.

Its a decent book which more or less reflects what Jack Welch and the other Corporate Strategy guru's have often spoken.