|
In the face of mounting competitive pressures,
executives have significantly reduced costs, improved efficiencies,
and strengthened their companies' core business. Yet firms
continue to destroy value for shareholders and lose ground
to competitors.
Renowned business thinkers John Hagel III
and John Seely Brown argue that as growth opportunities
migrate to the edges of companies, industries, and the global
economy, traditional strategies are less effective. In The
Only Sustainable Edge, the authors describe a dynamic
new source of competitive advantage -- accelerated capability
building -- that forces managers to discard their myopic
focus on existing resources and fundamentally rethink strategy
development and the nature of the firm.
Hagel and Brown describe the migration path
companies will pursue to build this sustainable edge: deepen
distinctive internal capabilities (dynamic specialization);
mobilize the resources of other specialized companies (connectivity
and coordination); and accelerate learning across broad
networks of enterprises (productive friction).
Using examples of diverse companies already
undergoing this transformation, The Only Sustainable
Edge outlines specific actions executives must undertake
now to position their organizations for the future. The
authors guide executives in learning how to:
- Harness new approaches to capability
building emerging in China and India
- Use outsourcing to improve distinctive
capabilities and shed nonessential activities
- Determine where to focus offshoring activities
to access the best talent
- Leverage the specialized capabilities
of complementary firms globally
- Utilize new generations of technology
to support capability building
The race for market leadership is on, and
the bounty will go to those who leverage accelerated capability
building to get better faster than competitors. Bold and
forward-looking, The Only Sustainable Edge is a must-read
for business executives, policy makers, educators, and anyone
who needs to understand the forces reshaping our world in
the twenty-first century.
John Hagel III is a business strategist
and former McKinsey & Company consultant who has advised
senior executives around the world for twenty-five years
(www.johnhagel.com).
John Seely Brown is the former Chief
Scientist of Xerox Corporation and served as director of
the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center for twelve years (www.johnseelybrown.com).
|
