Customer Reviews

Strategy Pure & Simple II: How Winning Companies Dominate Their Competitors

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Unfortunately I bought this book after "The Power of Strategic Thinking" that I found full of very interesting ideas, insightful and thought provoking.
If I only knew that it has almost no differences with "Strategy Pure and Simple" I would've never done it. The book is written by copy-and-paste method. There are whole pages and chapters there that were not even worded differently - direct citations from the previous book. The only enhancement - pictures in "The Power of Strategic Thinking" look more silly but are actually the same.
There are probably some fans of Mr.Robert who buy all his books as collectible items but to me it seems like cheating - the same product under new cover. Total disappointment. It also brings doubts about all `true stories' Mr.Robert tells about his successes with 300 companies.

When it comes to understanding and explaining why some companies develop and launch new products better than their competitors, Mike Robert truely has no equal. In preparing to help overhaul the strategic planning process at a major publishing firm, we read countless books on strategic planning before choosing Mike's "Strategy, Pure and Simple" as our guide. We couldn't have made a better choice. Mike's tell-it-like-it-is style and clearly defined process served as a guide through numerous planning sessions. This is Mike Robert's third book on the subject, and it is every bit as powerful as the first two. Whenever a client asks me to assist them on their strategic thinking journey, Mike's principles are a guiding force and his books are must reading. Adam Lefton

Michael Robert presents a well-organized plan to enable you to produce a distinctive strategy. He emphasizes the need for strategic thinking, which sets out a vision of where your company is going. Use this as your basis for making the appropriate choices and plans. Clarify what your company is, and is not, to avoid becoming scattered and overextended. Robert uses the metaphor of playing a game as his framework. Every CEO must carefully choose what game to play, and how to craft a strategy to make and shape the rules. To illustrate these principles, Robert draws on actual examples from client companies, alternating a step-by-step guide to strategic planning with brief case studies that demonstrate strategic thinking. We [...] recommend this book to top executives and managers in large companies.

I first read "Strategy Pure & Simple (I)" back in the early '90s, just before embarking on my first strategic planning job. Since then, I have managed strategic planning and implementation processes at a total of six different operational subsidiaries of two very large financial services groups.
As a financial controller and later a CFO, I have read a great many other books and articles about strategy and planning. Most of those were actually quite interesting, but when it came down to setting up and managing a actual, real-life planning process, I always turned back to Strategy Pure and Simple, because it is just GOOD ENOUGH.
- It includes all important issues that must be addressed during planning;
- more importantly, it reminds you of staying focused on those issues that happen to be key to your company (given its market, own caracteristics, timing, resources, etc.);
- still more importantly, it insists on interaction between the planning team and the management team, and helps with examples of visual aids and cues;
- it really helps a lot in communicating with line and senior managers during the planning process, getting them involved, assuring buy-in, and finally ensuring that the plan, when finished and approved, actually is implemented by those in charge. And, in the end, that is certainly what matters most.
I have now joined a new company in another industry, and have to manage yet another strategic planning process. Well, the best I can say about Strategy Pure & Simple is, I have fished out my 1993-vintage copy, and look forward to using it once again.

You will not be able to defeat your competitors by imitating them, says Michel Robert founder and president of Decision Processes International, Inc. Instead you must find something that you do better than your competitors, something different. Michel Robert has created a step-by-step method you can use to create a winning business strategy based on what you do best, not what your competitors are doing.

1. Identify your company's driving force. The driving force of your company can be either a skill set, a kind of technology or a specific market segment. All decisions, including product development, customer to target and markets to enter are based on your driving force.
2. Write a short business concept. The business concept should address the specific types of products/services, customers, market segments and geographic markets to which your strategy applies, and how the company will add value to these products/customers. The business concept should also have a tone of growth and a direction for the future of the organization.
3. Identify and nurture the skills or areas of excellence needed to implement your strategy. An area of excellence is something your company does better than anything else it does, and better than anything the competitors do. Your areas of excellence must be aligned with the driving force of your company.
4. Identify the critical issues you must address to implement the strategy. Address critical issues for implementation in four areas: Structure, Processes/Systems, Skills/Competencies, and Compensation. Create operational and strategic plans for improvement. Make sure you budget enough resources to make everything happen.

Robert also provides tips on how to anticipate and manage the strategies of your competitors.
· Make sure that your strategy puts you in a position to control or influence your market.
· Identify your competitors as well as their driving forces and strategies.
· Attack your competitor's strategy by diluting, diminishing or neutralizing their areas of excellence.

The author's approach to strategic planning is to start with "strategic thinking". His very straight forward approach is effective for major corporations as well as smaller businesses. His advice to readers is to involve the organization in the "strategic thinking process" rather than having the CEO institute that thinking in a "top down" manner. Readers will want to complete the book and then find a consultant who will facilitate the process.

This is an excellent resource for companies who are having difficulty clearly identifying who they are and where they are going. Michael Robert lays down practical steps for the business to define itself. Michael realizes that no one knows the business better than its employees. This is an excellent resource for companies in the mission/vision development and goal-setting stages.

This book is the thickest marketing brochure I have ever read. The case studies was interesting BUT it is all about trying to get you to use the authors (very expensive I'm sure) services to "guide" you through the process. On page 173 there is an example where some CEO told Michel Robert that he is the only person in the room that would stand up to him (to the CEO that is) or something to the likes of it - get over yourself mate.