Strategy Power Plays

By: Editors of Businessweek

McGraw-Hill

This is one of three anthologies of articles which first appeared in BusinessWeek magazine, the others focusing on leadership and marketing.
In Strategy Power Plays, the focus is on “how the world's most strategic minds reach the top of their game.” Featured CEOs include Jeff Bezos (Amazon), John Chambers (Cisco Systems), Michael Dell (Dell Computer), Michael Askew (UPS), Sam Palmisano (IBM), and Ken Chenault (American Express). Each of 14 chapters examines a specific company in which an appropriate strategy, effectively executed, helped to achieve its desired objectives. Then in a “Trends” section that follows the final chapter, readers are provided with an additional article written by Peter Engardio, “Business Prophet C.K. Prahalad Is Changing the Way People Think.”
Many readers will appreciate the narrative format which includes three reader-friendly devices: a “Lesson Plan” at the beginning of each chapter, a series of “Power Moves” throughout its narrative, and then a “Monday Morning...” review at its conclusion. These devices anchor the reader in a real-world situation, focus on the given strategic challenge, track responses to it, and offer suggestions for “sustaining the win.”
The emphasis in each of the chapters is on “what” to do and then on “how” it was done. Of course, there are several excellent books that devote all of their attention to a single company such as Cisco Systems and to a CEO such as John Chambers. Those who desire more information about a given company are urged to consult other sources. For most executives, however, this anthology's greatest value will be derived from lessons to be learned from a number of quite different situations in which an appropriate strategy helped, either to solve a serious problem or to take full advantage of a major opportunity.

Related Industries

Related Enterprise Solutions

    Click here to print PDF file