Competitive Strategy and Leadership: A Guide to Superior Performance

Competitive Strategy and Leadership focuses on the diagnosis and implementation of a firm's strategic plan. Through the Cycle of Success, superior performance results from the convergence of competitive strategy, the expectations of its targeted buyers, and the implementation of strategy-specific operating policies and practices. The Cycle of Success provides a means for a firm to develop management according to strategy. Through a case study and focused exercises, readers are lead to identify the specific weighted mix of product features, service, and price through which a firm seeks to gain a competitive advantage. The intended mix of product features, service, and price is extended to designing strategy-specific operations, policies, and practices, into a measurement system that monitors and communicates the firm's strategy, and to a model of strategic leadership. The sucessful reader of this book is able to help a firm craft its competitive strategy, contribute to building an effective management team, and help develop a coherent organization. Through the application of a strategy based-management theme, all operations and decisions are commonly guided. Superior performance, for the firm, the individual and for each co-worker, can be achieved through the alignment of all tasks and operations with the requisites of implementing the firm's strategy.