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More About This Title HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPANIES: SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIESFROM THE WORLD'S TOP ACHIEVERS
English
High Performance Companies complements the frameworks for strategy making detailed in many existing books, proposing a number of rules of thumb (or principles) that companies can consider when making their day-to-day decisions which, in turn, will determine their actual strategies. These principles traverse a wide range of scenarios, such as strategic changes implemented by companies, resource allocation decisions—especially towards building durable assets—and resource acquisition through inorganic means.
The book adopts a reader-friendly approach by teasing out the lessons to be found in detailed cases studies from interesting companies. The writing minimizes jargon while maintaining rigor, especially with regard to the applicability and relevance of the strategic principles to different business contexts.
- Cites extensive evidence in support of the proposed arguments, without sacrificing readability
- Combines both short and long case studies within each chapter to demonstrate the general applicability of the principles presented
- Uses a variety of examples ranging from well-known companies such as Coca-Cola, Singapore Airlines, and Starbucks to relatively lesser known companies such as Illinois Tool Work, SAS Institute, and Heng Long Leather to show that the principles presented are applicable everywhere
Providing valuable new insight into what makes a business successful and how to replicate this in a company of any size, High Performance Companies is an essential addition to the library of any manager or student of business.
English
Nitin has authored dozens of cases, scores of research articles in academic journals, articles in newspapers and two books that have been translated into Mandarin. He serves on the Editorial Review Board of Strategic Management Journal, the most prestigious journal in the strategic management area.
English
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
1 My Motivations 1
Introduction and Positioning 1
Seven Concerns Raised by the Content and Approach of Other Books 6
A Book on Strategic Principles: The Idea 11
Approach of the Book 11
Organization of the Book 13
The Final Word 15
2 Discover Diamonds among Coals 19
Resources, Firm Strategy, and Performance 19
Acquisitions Fitting the “Discover-Diamonds-among-Coals” Adage 22
Mittal Steel: Discovering Diamonds among Coals—Consistently! 25
Building a Global Empire through Acquisitions 27
The Recipe for Success 29
How Mittal Polishes Raw Diamonds 34
The Final Word 37
3 Build Durable Assets 45
Durable Assets and Performance 45
Tiger Balm: Durable Assets Withstand Twenty Years of Neglect 52
Pawning the Family Heirloom 55
Restoring the Tiger Balm’s Roar through Investments in Durable Assets 56
The Recipe for Success 58
The Tiger Balm Case and Its Implications for a Strategy Based on Durable Assets 59
The Final Word 61
4 Focus on Small Wins 69
Big Hits, Big Flops, and Their Performance Implications 69
Small Wins: An Alternative Route to Superior Performance? 72
YKK’s Small Wins Lead to Market Dominance 73
The Lincoln Electric Company’s Small- Wins- Based Strategy 76
Illinois Tool Works: Scoring Big with Numerous Small Wins 80
The Four Cornerstones of ITW’s Strategy 81
The Final Word 89
5 Integrate to Innovate 97
The Importance of Innovation 97
Innovation Strategies 99
Innovation through Integration 101
SAS Institute: The Consummate “Integrator” 102
Fanuc: Industry Dominance through Integration and Innovation 107
Integration of External Knowledge at Fanuc 110
Internal Integration at Fanuc 113
The Final Word 114
6 Advance (Strategically and Competitively) During a Crisis 121
Crises as Common Events 121
Top Managers and Crises 123
The Tylenol Crisis and Johnson & Johnson 124
Toyota Fumbles 127
Singapore Airlines (SIA): Proactive Management of Crises 133
SIA’s Response to the East Asian Economic Crisis 133
The SQ 006 Crash in Taiwan and SIA’s Response 135
The Final Word 140
7 Beware of the Incremental (Strategic Change)! 149
Importance of Strategic Change and Its Performance Implications 149
Mixed Performance Outcomes of Strategic Changes at Starbucks and McDonald’s 151
Strategic Changes and Their Performance Implications at Tupperware 156
Tupperware’s Social Impact and Performance 156
The Beginnings 158
The Growth Years 159
Innovative Business Model 159
Strategic Changes 161
Putting the Strategic Changes and Their Performance Impacts in Perspective 165
The Final Word 166
8 Strategic Principles in a Nutshell 173
Strategic Principles and Their Relevance 173
Simple yet Powerful 173
Applicability Beyond Large Companies 175
Applicability Across Geographies 177
Some Common Themes (and Factors) Across the Examples 179
CEOs and Top Managers Set the Correct Example 179
A Clearly Conceived Strategy That Often Defies
Conventional Wisdom 180
Long View 181
Managing Risks 182
Careful Attention to Execution or Implementation Issues and Management of People Resources 183
In Conclusion 184
Index 189
