Value Migration: How to Think Several Moves Ahead of the Competition

I discovered this book during a business trip to Phoenix in 1996, and it still occupies a space on my special shelf of books that have deeply influenced me. As the most basic level the concept of value migration is business design, and the ability of that design to evolve in a dynamic market. The simple map of where your business, which is a function of design, is summed up in three states: value inflow, stability or outflow. At a more complex level, this book provides seven patterns that serve as markers to show how value can migrate from one business (or industry) to another. The final part of this book shows how the concepts and patterns can be applied in your own business.The foregoing may erroneously give the impression that this book is heavy on concept and lite on practicality. It's not. The material is meticulously presented, reinforced by recognizable examples drawn from industries, and prescriptive measures are laid out with realism and pragmatism. The concepts are what have influenced me. After reading this book I've looked at certain industry trends differently, and after eight years my observations bear out the premise of this book. This is highly actionable information that is invaluable to any company that wants to prevent the outflow of value, while capitalizing on stability and finding ways to create inflow. A more recent book that meshes nicely with this one is "The Ultimate Competitive Advantage: Secrets of Continually Developing a More Profitable Business Model" ISBN 1576751678. In fact, that book extends this book in many ways, especially with respect to business design, and further proves the concepts Slywotzky set forth in this book in 1996.

I normally do not read business books of this book's scope; however, it was recommended by my co-author for an article on which we were collaborating. Our challenge was to support the assertion that the U.S. software industry is being supplanted by India, and a shift in off-shore development resources from the U.S. consumer to Indian provider is actually moving to Indian consumer to Russian and Egyptian providers. This is obviously value migration in its truest form and is consistent with the ideas set forth by Mr. Slywotzky in this book.Using the inflow-stability-outflow model that is one of the basic paradigms in this book, we developed a model upon which we were able to build a case supporting our assertion. More interestingly, the whole concept and numerous case studies that reinforce it throughout the book provided me with a deeper understanding of the macro and micro issues of value migration - this was eye-opening. My favorite chapter is at the very end of the book. Titled, "Five Moves ... or Fewer," it showed how major companies captured or recaptured the biggest share of value available, and each of the examples involved five or less moves. I was personally fascinated. Although my initial reason for reading this book was to research an article, it has changed my way of thinking on a number of levels that go well beyond a single-topic research project. The writing style is clear and engaging, and the concepts and ideas ring true. I am giving this remarkable book 5 stars and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see a bigger picture of economics or develop a keen business strategy.

According to Slywotsky, there are three phases of what he calls "value migration": In "inflow," the initial phase, a company starts to absorb value from other parts of its industry because its business design proves superior in satisfying customers' priorities; the second phase, "stability," is characterized by business designs that are well matched to customer priorities and by overall competitive equilibrium; in "outflow," the third phase, value starts to move away from an organization's traditional activities toward business designs that more effectively meet evolving customer priorities. Slywotsky explains that Part I of this book describes the basic rules of Value Migration" and the workings of what he refers to as "the new game of business." As when playing chess, winning at this game requires an understanding of the individual pieces (i.e. when to deploy them and how to capture them). One must master basic moves and simple techniques such as openings, traps to avoid, end-game moves, etc. It is also important to understand the the importance of controlling (as in chess) "the four central ones." In business as in chess, one must become familiar with certain "basic patterns" which will ultimately determine success or failure. These "patterns" are examined in Part II. There are seven: Multidirectional Migration (from steel to materials), Migration to a Non-Profit Industry (airlines), Blockbuster Migration (pharmaceuticals), Multicategory Migration (coffee), From Integration to Specialization (computing), From Conventional Selling to Low-Cost Distribution, ands finally, From Conventional Selling to High-End Solutions. Slywotsky shifts his attention in Part III to explaining how to play the Value Migration "game" well on a day-to-day basis. He identifies certain specific initiatives to take which help to (a) avoid value loss and (b) preempt the next cycle of value growth. "The final chapter of the book focuses on the increasingly high-stakes nature of the decisions that determine future value growth."There are more than a dozen charts which effectively illustrate Slywotsky's key points. For example, Figure 15-1 presents "The Grand Masters of Value Growth" and identifies them, their key moves, and the value each created (in terms of billions of dollars) from 1980 until 1994. All of these visionary leaders (Welch, Walton, Vagelos, Gates, Petersen, Grove, Malone, Platt, Noorda, Iverson, and Kelleher) focused on making the right moves and thereby created enormous value for their respective companies. "Business chess is a game that is as demanding as [football and basketball], but in very different ways. It is not physical stamina, but stamina of thought. It is not transactional concentration, but constant shuttling between a focus on the current move and imagining the next several moves out. It is an unrelenting exercise of matching patterns on the current game board to the countless patterns in your mind." Slywotsky concludes the final chapter with

This book is based on the relation between business design and organizational performance. Slywotzky explains the main reasons why some companies which are very succesful in the past now in the edge of bankrupcy. Because of business design that is not accordance with the environmmental expectations. Only firms which renew themselves in time can survive competition and continue to create value for customers. Otherwise the value will migrate to other firms which create it for customers. To understand the customer and environmental expectations, necessary technics are explained and examples are given. I suggest that you read this book.

Looks at strategic planning by assigning value to an organization by its overall market value which is its capitalization at any given time (share times price plus long term debt) on the basis that this reflects how thousands of interested parties (stockholders, industry analysts, customers, suppliers, governements, etc.) view an organizations business design and its long term viability. Excellent detailed examples of industry after industry included showing how organizations with a good idea of how to serve an ever changing customer enviornment first gain value, then stabilize then lose value as other entrants into their industry are more in tune with customer priorities and develop a better business design. Author is from CDI (Corporate Decisions, Inc. in Boston) which consults with clients on "growth opportunities" more than "organizational problems"