The Portable MBA in Strategy

a high level volume of sophisticated articles on corporate officer level strategic issues.

Strategy and tactics are essential to all entrepreneurs wanting to not only be successful, but to win! Playing to win is a mindset as pointed out in the April 2004 Harvard Business Review - "Hardball: Five Killer Strategies for Trouncing the Competition." In "The Portable MBA Guide to Strategy" you will learn to formulate and execute effective marketplace strategies that enable you to transform your ideas into marketplace reality. Divided into four parts, numerous experts expound upon what is strategy and how to use it to win in business: Part One - Strategy: Winning in the Marketplace Part Two - Strategy Inputs: Analyzing the External and Internal Environments Part Three - Strategy Making: Identifying and Evaluating Strategic Alternatives Part Four - Managing Strategic Change: Linking Strategy and Action If you went to business school, this will be a great refresher. If not, this book will cover all the bases and create a solid strategic foundation applicable to the real world. It's hard for me to say where to start; The Portable MBA is a cornucopia of indispensable knowledge. Chapter 5, Strategy for the Small Business seems like a logical place to start. And, if you're looking for funding, pay close attention to Box 5.4 on p. 124 for key questions to ask yourself. Chapter 6 on Digital Strategy is also compelling in its own right. While much of the book applies to larger entities, it is wise to study the material for two reasons; 1) It will help you learn how to build your company and 2) Studying larger competitors is tantamount to military generals learning the ways of their adversaries. ----------------- Michael Davis - Editor, Byvation

Strategic planning was once the sole responsibility of senior management. In today's business climate of shortened product cycles, ruthless price competition and global access to markets, the burden has spread to include middle managers. This new Portable MBA volume is the eighth in the series. It offers insights from 16 leading business school professors at Harvard, Boston University, Maryland, Northwestern, Dartmouth, Michigan, Stanford, Wharton and the Cranfield School of Management in England and five prominent consultants. Each contributor is not only an expert, but experienced putting into practice the principles and methodologies discussed in the chapter.Whether tackling business, corporate or global strategy issues or analyzing industrial, technological, organizational and political factors, The Portable MBA in Strategy defines the planner's current vocabulary. It also offers practical solutions to implement plans in any business environment.The book reduces a successful strategy to its four component parts -- the marketplace for the strategy; the inputs required for a successful plan, the opportunities for corporate transformation and the steps required to transfigure the plan into reality. Each chapter starts with an engaging case study to illustrate its theme. The result is a practical, readable, and comprehensive look at business strategy; appropriate whether the reader is the owner of small business or the manager of a vast global enterprise.

The title is misleading. The careful reader will develop a more thorough grounding in business strategy than any MBA course can provide. Especially useful for non-MBAs who want to understand the concepts that get tossed around during strategic planning.