Unique Value: The Secret of All Great Business Strategies
This is, arguably, the best strategic planning book since Michael E. Porter’s Competitive Strategy. The authors ask, “Do the world’s greatest businesses have something in common that sets them apart from lesser companies?” Then they argue, persuasively, that outstanding firms are different. They craft a “Unique Value = ROI [Return on Investment]” model that “fully integrates all functions and operations to bring maximum value to the marketplace.” The authors maintain that a company must develop a complex five-part strategy that identifies its competitive framework, market target, basis for perceived competitive superiority, product portfolio and key drivers. Next, they analyze firms that successfully incorporated this strategy (including Nintendo and Holiday Inn), as well as products whose failures are symptomatic of poor corporate strategy (for example, the IBM PC Jr. and Sony Betamax). While this book should garner impressive trade and library sales, its appeal to business and academic markets could also be formidable. The authors are founders of Unique Value, a Business Growth Strategy consulting firm, while Stevens is a syndicated columnist and Barwise is a Professor of Management and Marketing at the London Business School
