Main profit

Author: Chris Zook
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-02-01
Features: This book reveals some enduring, often counterintuitive principles that openly defy the principles heavily promoted by the new economy. As such, it is an essential strategic guide for any business seeking long-term profitable growth. Over the past 20 years, 90% of companies worldwide have failed to achieve sustained profitable growth. Today's business gurus are championing "new principles" for strategy and organization, but this book reveals that the secrets to corporate growth lie in fundamental economic principles. Through a decade-long study of over 2,000 companies across various industries such as technology, services, and products, the author concludes that most corporate growth strategies fail to expand value and instead erode it, primarily because they misallocate resources away from core business. The author advocates an timeless strategic concept: building market competitiveness within a well-defined core business. This serves as the key source for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage and successful expansion. Based on in-depth research into hundreds of cases, direct conversations with over 100 CEOs, and the author's extensive consulting and business experience, this book identifies and explains three critical factors that determine the success of corporate growth strategies: (1) unleashing the full potential of the core business; (2) expanding into adjacent businesses surrounding the core; (3) continuously redefining and refining the core business to adapt to market changes. Ultimately, sustainable value creators are those companies that can effectively redefine and refine their core business over the long term. The Profitable Business highlights enduring, often counterintuitive principles that openly defy the principles heavily promoted by the new economy, making it an essential strategic guide for any business seeking long-term profitable growth.