The Sixth Sense	Seeing into the future – the dream of any strategist! Yet, The Sixth Sense notes that most companies aren’t very good at predicting what will come next. Their approach tends to be rigid, conformist and excessively intellectual. The authors recommend a technique derived from the military – scenario thinking – not as a means to foretell the future, but to learn to reason effectively in uncertain environments and prepare for different eventualities. They go on to describe the key factors that make this method an excellent tool for continuous learning.
Kees van der Heijden, Ron Bradfield, George Burt, George Cairns and George Wright, Wiley, 2002.
Platform Leadership	Who drives technological innovation in the computer industry? Computer manufacturers would be a natural guess, as end product assemblers are usually the ones who control the pace of innovation. Surprisingly, the right answer is component makers, such as Intel and Microsoft. Platform Leadership analyzes how component makers can become the drivers of innovation in their industry. The authors underline the importance of the ability to convince other companies to invest in developing products that will add value to one’s own offering. They also provide readers with many useful tips on how to manage this delicate relationship.
Annabelle Gawer and Michael A.Cusumano, Harvard Business School Press, 2002.
The Delta Project	Competitive strategy is strongly influenced by the principles defined twenty years ago by Michael Porter, who distinguished between two fundamental options, i.e. offer the lowest price or differentiate the offering. Other schools of thought developed since that time promote core competencies and customer intimacy as the key to strategic positioning. The Delta Project reconciles these different approaches. The authors point out the advantages of seeking alternative solutions to best product positioning, e.g. offer the best customer solutions or lock in the system. They also emphasize the need to align company practices with the selected strategy.
Arnoldo C. Hax et Dean L. Wilde II, Palgrave, 2001.
20/20 Foresight	Who would deny that the economic environment is increasingly uncertain? Yet very few companies truly take this uncertainty into account when building their strategy. Instead, they often try to predict the future. 20/20 Foresight suggests making uncertainty a core element of strategy development. The author, a McKinsey consultant, points out that there are several levels of uncertainty and indicates which decision-making tools to use for each. He also emphasizes how the level of uncertainty influences strategic choices, such as the timing of decisions and the risk management policy.
Hugh Courtney, Harvard Business School Press, 2001.
Profit Patterns	Profit Patterns describes the "strategic anticipation" methodology developed by Mercer Management Consulting professionals. This methodology is designed to help managers anticipate radical breaks with the existing market in order to occupy prime territory faster than the competition. According to the authors, knowledge of the thirty patterns of change described in the book can help managers identify the underlying dynamics of major transformations in their industry very early in the game.
A. Slywotzky, D. Morrison, T. Moser, K. Mundt and J. Quella, Village Mondial, 1999.
Value Migration	This book proposes a conceptual framework for predicting the emergence of winning models within a given industry, based on the premise that value in all industries migrates from the dominant organizational model of the moment toward other emerging models. The author then proposes a methodology to help companies identify these phenomena and react accordingly.
Adrian J. Slywotzky, Harvard Business School Press, 1996.
Information Rules	That we are entering the information age is certain, but less certain is the need to reject our traditional thinking models, as we are incited to do by some. “Information Rules” invites readers to examine the situation more carefully. The authors support their theories with proven economic principles applied to information markets and systems., and use solid, down-to-earth methodology to derive key principles that govern strategy development in these industries.
Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian, Harvard Business School Press, 1999.
Real Options	Certain strategic investments pose real dilemmas, for example, when economic projections show mediocre profitability for a project, while executives cannot help intuitively feeling that it has a promising future. Based on the theory of financial options, «Real Options » helps reconcile economic valuation and strategic intuition. The authors show why traditional valuation methods sometimes underestimate the real value of a given project, and provide an analysis framework to improve understanding of the economic mechanisms at work.
Martha Amram and Nalin Kulatikala, Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
Hypercompetition	This book rethinks the traditional definition of corporate strategy as a means to create lasting competitive advantage, and seeks to demonstrate that corporate success is based on how well companies can adapt to continuous variations in the competitive playing field. The author then offers an analysis model to predict such changes and seven strategic skills to succeed in an unstable world.
Richard A. D'Aveni, The Free Press, 1993.
Race for theÊWorld	Globalization is often cited as a factor accelerating competitive pressure. It has also been studied at length from the intercultural relations and organizational angle. Strangely enough, however, few authors have focused upon its strategic implications. The authors, McKinsey consultants, show how recognizing the stakes of globalization can lead companies to completely rethink their strategy. They also explain how managers can help the company find the most promising path.
Lowell Bryan, Jane Fraser, Jeremy Oppenheim andÊWilhem Rall, Harvard Business School Press, 1999.
The Market Makers	This book, based on economic theory, presents an original perspective on strategy that is complementary to the product/market approach, in that it sees companies as the bridge between suppliers and customers. This vision leads to an awareness of the role that companies play in facilitating transactions between diverse market players. From this perspective, the author derives many ways of reinforcing the added value of companies, as well as several original strategies for entering new markets.
Daniel F. Spulber, McGraw-Hill, 1998.
Clockspeed	How can companies predict supply chain trends in their industry? What steps must be mastered tomorrow to maintain a supply chain advantage? To answer these questions, the author studied the dynamics of fast-changing industries, and identified several laws to help companies predict trends in their own industries, regardless of how fast the clock is ticking.
Charles H. Fine, Perseus Books, 1997.
Co-opetition	This book presents the main conclusions of the game theory applied to corporate strategy, and derives four key drivers that companies can use to turn situations to their advantage: bring in new players; change the rules of the game; play with perceptions; take advantage of links between different markets.
Adam M. Brandenburger and Barry J. Nalebuff, Currency Doubleday, 1996.
The Profit Zone	This book, the sequel to Value Migration, provides concrete examples of companies that have grown profitably over a sustained period of years, such as Coca Cola, GE Plastics, Disney, Intel, etc. The success of these companies is shown to be based on their ability to reinvent the rules of the game in their respective industries on a continuing basis. The authors then provide ideas on how to take inspiration from these experiences.
Adrian J. Slywotzky and David J. Morrison, Times Business, 1997.
Corporate-Level Strategy	This book explores how corporate headquarters can create value for group divisions and subsidiaries, and focuses particularly on four key ways to do this: reinforce cross-company communication; provide otherwise unavailable expertise; manage portfolio cycles well; support the appointment of effective managers.
Michael Goold, Andrew Campbell and Marcus Alexander, Wiley, 1993.
Competing for the Future	Sony, NEC, and Motorola are examples of companies that prepare years in advance to conquer markets that do not yet exist. This book describes the approach used by these companies, using examples to explain how they develop their vision of future markets and what they do to position themselves on these markets.
Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad, Harvard Business School Press, 1990.
Competence-Based Competition	This collaborative work is devoted to the practical implications of the core competency concept. The authors specifically study how companies can identify and prioritize core competencies, as well as the means required to reinforce existing skills.
Under the direction of Gary Hamel and Aimé Heene, Wiley, 1994.
The Discipline of market Leaders	This book exhorts companies to clarify their value proposition to customers, and identifies three main options: offer the lowest total cost; offer the most effective product; offer a solution specifically adapted to the needs of each customer. The authors then demonstrate that each of these three option requires an adapted organization that is incompatible with the other two.
Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema, Perseus, 1994.
Customer Intimacy	This book, written by the authors of «L'exigence du choix, » (The Choice Imperative) develops upon one of the three options proposed in the previous book, namely, proximity to the customer. Using numerous supporting examples, the author decribes various means to implement this strategy.
Fred Wiersema, Knowledge Exchange, 1996.
Customer Connections	This book offers an original approach to strategic analysis that is not based on traditional product/market/competency analyses, but rather on a precise understanding of the value of different relationships between companies and their customers.
Robert E. Wayland and Paul M. Cole, Harvard Business School Press, 1997.
Commitment	One of the most original strategic concepts to emerge in recent years--commitment--is presented in this book, which demonstrates how sustained gaps in competitive performance can be explained by the irreversible commitments made by companies. In light of this idea, the author then outlines several principles to guide strategic thinking.
Pankaj Ghemawat, The Free Press, 1991.
When Lean Enterprises Collide	This book, principally devoted to cost control techniques, offers interesting thoughts on the strategic impact of lean production methods. The author shows that it is illusory for companies to pursue sustainable differentiation, and consequently recommends that they acquire management skills required to succeed in a context of direct competition.
Robin Cooper, Harvard Business School Press, 1995.
Charting the Corporate Mind	Why have the Japanese subjugated the American automotive industry? Because they decided to offer price AND quality, while their competitors force consumers to choose between low price and low quality, or high quality at a high price. In the same vein, the author exhorts readers to resolve the dilemmas that hobble corporate performance through an approach that reconciles the seemingly incompatible.
Charles Hampden-Turner, The Free Press, 1994.