by Paul Simister
on December 27, 2016
The full title of this book by Marc Van Eck and Ellen Leenhouts is
“The One Page Business Strategy: Streamline Your Business Plan in Four Simple Steps“.
In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means I consider it to be in the good to very good category.
Here is my review.
A nice summary planning process
This book explains a useful planning process which helps to provide focus and coordination. The format summarises the plan nicely although I think the one page is a gimmick as it specifies a minimum font size of 6ppt. Personally I’d rather have two pages I can read without squinting.
It involves working through the main Objective, Goals, Strategies & both meanings of Measures – a KPI Dashboard and Actions. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 11, 2015
The full title of this classic strategy book by Michael E. Porter is
“Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors“.
In my review posted at Amazon.co.uk, I gave this book a rating of Five Stars. This means I think it is Excellent.
Here is my book review.
A classic strategy book that goes well beyond the five forces model
This is a classic business strategy text and is essential reading for anybody who has a serious interest in business strategy.
The book is written in three sections:
1 – General Analytical Techniques
2 – Generic Industry Environments
3 – Strategic Decisions
[continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 8, 2015
The full title of this book is
“Who Moved My Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave this book a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is Good and Well Worth Reading.
Here is my book review.
An intriguing but simple parable to help people to adapt to change
This is an intriguing but simple parable to help people to adapt to change.
The problem with using parables as a teaching mechanism is that some people can be entranced by the story but just read it at the surface level. “Who Moved My Cheese?” solves this problem by having the story sandwiched between two reflections. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 7, 2015
The full title of this book by Mark Scott is
“Value Drivers: The Manager’s Guide to Driving Corporate Value Creation“.
In my review posted to Amazon.co.uk, I gave this book a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is Good and Well Worth Reading.
Here is my book review.
Written for the busy manager who wants to understand business strategy but not a “how to do it” guide
This book is written for the busy manager who wants to understand competitive strategy and corporate strategy.
It is aims to answer three main questions:
1 – How does my company actually work?
2 – How do I become a better manager?
3 – How can I fit all these pieces together?
[continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 4, 2015
The full title of the book by Jaynie Smith is
Creating Competitive Advantage: Give Customers a Reason to Choose You Over Your Competitors
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 3 Stars.
Here is my review.
Competitive advantage or benefit statement?
Every now and again I read a book that plenty of other people rave about but I don’t get. This is such a book. Sometimes the writing style just doesn’t click with me. Sometimes it’s the message in a book that’s the problem and that’s what happens here. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 4, 2015
The full title of this important book by Michael Porter is
“Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave this book a rating of Five Stars. This means I think it is Excellent and is Very Highly Recommended to anyone with a deep interest in business strategy and how competitive advantage is created.
Here is my book review.
Very challenging but very rewarding if you’re interested in competitive advantage
I first read this book in 1990 when I realised strategy was the subject that combined (and reconciled) my interest in finance and marketing. I’d been very impressed with his book, “Competitive Strategy” and wanted to understand more about how you create competitive advantage through cost leadership, differentiation and focus. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on November 26, 2015
I rated
Strategy Dynamics Essentials by Kim Warren
as a Four Stars book in my review on Amazon.co.uk. This means I think the book Is Good and Well Worth Reading.
Here is my book review.
Turn your strategy into a detailed model and stop it being wishy-washy good intentions
This is not an ordinary book on strategy and therefore it won’t be suitable for many people who are looking for a how to guide.
The author recognises the problem of well meaning but wishy washy strategic plans that are intended to increase long term profits and cash flows but fail to provide a link from strategic objectives through to tactics and performance numbers. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on July 2, 2015
In my review of the book
The Co-Creation Paradigm by Venkat Ramaswamy & Kerimcan Ozcan
posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 2 Stars.
Here is my review.
Disappointed.
I found this hard going and returned it. It didn’t help that I didn’t have an empathy with the examples.
I was new to the work that Venkat Ramaswamy has done on co-creation and perhaps I’d have been better off starting with one of the earlier books or even his Harvard Business Review articles.
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by Paul Simister
on June 29, 2015
The full title of this mind-blowing book by Martin Reeves, Knut Haanaes and Janmejaya Sinha is
“Your Strategy Needs a Strategy: How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave this book Five Stars. This means I think it is Excellent and it is Very Highly Recommended.
Here is my book review.
A very helpful guide to making sense of the different ideas for how to “do strategy”
Kim Warren’s excellent book “The Trouble With Strategy” is a harsh criticism of how badly strategy has performed as an academic topic and as a professional service.
Too often new ideas have been introduced on the basis that older, more established ideas are wrong. Proper academic and real world subjects (like physics and engineering) build on what is accepted and only knock down and replace existing theory when there is strong evidence that old thoughts were wrong (e.g. the world is round). [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on June 12, 2015
The full title of this book by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur is
“Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers“.
In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means that it is Good and Well Worth Reading.
Here is my book review.
More style than substance
This is a remarkable triumph of visual design. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a book like it before.
I have some criticisms about how easy it is to read and the fact that the content is more style over substance. For one thing, to create space for all the funky images, the words are in a small font. I was OK but I know that some people will struggle.
I really like the idea of the one page Business Model Canvas which is described as “a shared language for describing, visualising, assessing and changing business models.” It looks very useful to summarise your existing business model and for moving towards better ways to create, deliver and capture value. [continue reading…]
