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Reviews
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From The New York Times:
A Simpler Way to Beat the Competition, by Paul B. Brown, August 7, 2005
"In the best of the strategy books now or soon to be in stores, [Greenwald] has proposed a fairly straightforward way to think about strategy that makes the subject substantially simpler. In Competition Demystified... Mr. Greenwald, with the help of Judd Kahn, has, in essence, examined the five factors that Mr. Porter says make up strategy and has singled out what the authors believe is the most important: a concept that Mr. Greenwald and Mr. Kahn call ‘barriers to entry.’"
"...The writing is direct, nonacademic in style and approach, and occasionally funny. (‘Nintendo did not play well with others,’it says.)"
From Business Week:
How the Mighty Fall, by Joseph Weber, December 12, 2005
"In this take-no-prisoners look at corporate strategy, the pair dissect such ambitious but ill-fated stumblers as Coors and Coca-Cola Co. and warn about the future of such powerhouses as News Corp. they argue that entrenched big companies face daunting challenges to growth, adding that the urge to hammer rivals, instead of simply exploiting their own competitive edges, ‘has been a continual source of poor performance.’ They make a compelling case."
"They offer important lessons for managers and investors alike."
For the full review, click here.
From The Toronto Globe and Mail:
Competition and Its Profitable Alter Ego, Monopoly, by Harvey Schachter, October 12, 2005
"Ever since Harvard professor, Michael Porter’s groundbreaking work on strategy, managers have struggled with how to apply his complex model about the crucial five forces that can affect the competitive environment:...Now, Bruce Greenwald of Columbia Business School and investment manager Judd Kahn have simplified the schema, arguing that one force is dominant and is key to strategic success: barriers to entry, which keep potential entrants away and makes it difficult for competitors to expand .... Without barriers to entry, anybody can flood into your market, and will, until the profits are meagre. Your only option is to operate as efficiently as possible... focus on operations."
"Competition Demystified is superb, with a deft balance between theory and case studies that offer fascinating explanations of strategic adventures by prominent companies."
For the full review, click here.
From Marketingsherpa.com:
"Based on his hugely popular Columbia Business School course, author Bruce Greenwald's new book Competition Demystified is a truly fabulous read."
"You'll learn:
- What the *only* three barriers to competition are
- How to compete if you don't have any true advantage
- Strategy for making the most of an advantage
Includes lots of real-life stories (Coors, Apple, Pepsi, Home Depot, Fox, Cisco, etc.) and charts. Best of all, it's beautifully written - a true pleasure to read (unlike most books by economists)."
From BizEd, September/October, 2005:
"The authors offer straightforward advice for both entrenched corporations and feisty newcomers: Think locally, expand strategicially and always defend your territory. Clear writing and plenty of real-life case studies make the book easy to read and the arguments persuasive."
For the full review, click here.
From Fast Company, August, 2005:
"A Columbia prof takes aim at Michael Porter’s classic five-force model for studying competition. He counters with his own one-step game-theory rubric that boils down to: How easily can your competitors expand? Wall in your rivals before they do, and watch them shrivel."
Acclaim from business thinkers and leaders:
"The best ‘course’ I’ve ever read on strategic management. Actually does demystify a complex world of management. "
--Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader
"The core question on competitive strategy was due for a significant reappraisal. Professor Greenwald delivers a provocative and useful book that changes not only our ideas about strategy, but our application of strategy in the real world. An important book."
-- Noel Tichy, author of The Leadership Pipeline and Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will
"Competition Demystified is a brilliant challenge to Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy. Bruce Greenwald argues that corporate strategists need to think more like Go players – i.e., focus more on the actions and reactions of their competitors."
-- Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind
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