Perspectives on Strategy from The Boston Consulting Group (Hardcover)

by Carl W. Stern (Editor), George Stalk (Editor) "WHAT IS STRATEGY?..." (more)
Key Phrases: total brand management, premium conglomerates, net cash generation, Banc One, United States, Bruce Henderson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A collection of the best thinking from one of the most innovative management consulting firms in the world

The Boston Consulting Group is an innovator in business strategy worldwide. In fact, BCG and its founder, Bruce D. Henderson, may be best known internationally as the creators and architects of the discipline of business strategy. Innovative business concepts originating at the firm include "cash cow," "experience curve," "segment-of-one® marketing," "time-based competition," and "capabilities-based competition." Now, for the Þrst time, BCG’s most influential writings are gathered in a comprehensive collection, offering serious-minded readers access to BCG’s thinking on the theory, development, and practice of business strategy.

"The majority of products in most companies are cash traps. . . . [They] are not only worthless, but a perpetual drain on corporate resources."

"Use more debt than your competition or get out of the business."

"Displacement of high-cost competitors by lower prices benefits the customer."

"As a strategic weapon, time is the equivalent of money, productivity, quality, even innovation."

"When brands become business systems, brand management becomes far too important to leave to the marketing department."

"The winning organization of the future will look more like a collection of jazz ensembles than a symphony orchestra."

"Most of our organizations today derive from a model whose original purpose was to control creativity."

"Dumping should be encouraged. It is a gift from the nation that provides the products."

"Taxes should be levied when, and only when, individuals disinvest in order to consume. Capital still at work should not be taxed at all."

From the Publisher
A collection of the best thinking from the highly acclaimed management consulting firm. For the past thirty years, BCG has changed the face of business with their innovative thinking in such areas as brand management, marketing strategies, leadership, and customer value. Now, for the first time, you can read up on all of BCG's groundbreaking ideas under one cover.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471248339
• ISBN-13: 978-0471248330
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #787,449 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The material in this book is severely outdated, August 30, 1999

By	"jankensgard" (Sweden) - See all my reviews

Don't buy this book unless it is for nostalgic reasons. As a guide for decision-making and policy-setting it is hopelessly outdated. Some of Hendersons statements, such as: "High margins and market share go together", send shivers down the back. Even some of the newer material, such as the article on Economic Value Added, is clearly in the wrong. And it almost totally misses out on what is today perhaps the most important perspective on corporate strategy: the focus on value, e.g. the linking of financial theory and corporate strategy.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good historical recap on BCG greatest hits, July 16, 1998

By A Customer

If you want to know where a lot of the actual strategy jargon came from, this is the place. You will learn the origin and the original meaning of "cash cow", "segment of one", "growth matrix" and many others. It is a collection of articles written by Bruce Henderson and other members of the BCG through the years so it is not really articulated and linked as a normal book but somehow, maybe through professional experience you can establish the link between the different subjects it covers. This book would certainly be the foundation for the reading of many actual business books. I enjoyed it and certainly recomend it.

Para cualquiera que hable primordialmente el español creo que debería ser una lectura obligada porque el Boston Consulting Group no ha tenido nunca la proyección internacional de otras grandes consultorías como Andersen o Mc Kinsey y por lo mismo sus ideas no han permeado nuestros ambientes de negocios en la forma en que lo h! ! ubieran hecho si el BCG tuviera más presencia en nuestros países

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An compilation of mostly outdated papers, August 6, 2000

By	José A. Sánchez Villanueva (Madrid (Spain)) - See all my reviews

This was a disappointing bought. I was looking for alive ideas and what I found out was a collection of outdated papers mainly on experience curve. Most of them are simply a homage to Bruce henderson, with almost no value today. Even the most recent papers are not specially insightfull. The two stars come from some usefull ideas picked up from somes papers as the redefinition of a what a company offers as a guide for improving your strategy or the pitfalls of the reductionist thinking. It is not enough for recommending this book.