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

by Adrian J. Slywotzky

According to Slywotzky, "value migration" is the flow of economic and shareholder value away from an increasingly outmoded business design toward others that are better equipped to create utility for customers and profit for the company. This book describes the skills that managers will need to identify value shifts in their own industries and to craft the key moves that will determine their ability to achieve and sustain value growth. "A strategy guide that will show you why businesses rise and fall, and how to profit at each phase of a market's life cycle".--Success "[Slywotzky's] far-sighted new book...is likely to shake up the way executives look at their priorities".--Journal of Business Strategy

Genres: Business, Finance, Nonfiction, Economics, Management

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Adrian J. Slywotzky (born in 1951) is a consultant and author of several books on economic theory and management. Slywotzky graduated from Harvard College and holds a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has worked as a consultant since 1979 and is currently a partner at Oliver Wyman.
Slywotzky wrote several books on profitability and growth, namely the bestselling The Profit Zone'.' He is one of the most renowned consultants of the United States and was elected as one of the 25 best consultants in 2000 and 2008. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Lori Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read book on strategy for knowledge workers and entrepreneurs.

[Tirath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was about how consumers change their preferences;
Instead - its broader.
Its about how change causes the market value of an industry or a company to change.

Great stuff on the value migration from steel to other materials such as plastic or aluminium
On Blast oxygen furnaces to mini mills/ EAFs
On ground robusta beans consumed at home to a luxurious experience of a barista making a coffee for you.
On how computing became personal and ought to have been IBM's domain, but instead Microsoft and Intel got a big chunk of a very different form of computing.

Interestingly; the book implies that change comes from odd places; and companies and management have to battle inertia and resource allocation to stay relevant. And sometimes you can; and sometimes you cant.

Hence, the ideas from the book are great lessons for managers and investors both.

[Madhur Bhargava · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book. Not only covers value migration, but also business design to some extent. However, examples seem to be a bit too cherry-picked. For example, the author talks in detail about McDonald's and the success of their speedee system, but completely blindsides their real estate strategy, which was a core part of the value creation.

[Pratik Kothari · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful read, highly recommended. The book provides with a framework to think through the patterns of shifting value in consumer, business & industry. It also discusses 7-8 cases in detail across pharma, steel, tech, consumer, coffee, others. Timeless.

[Piyush Khandelwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a good book to understand business value changes by disrupting existing business model or bringing something new innovative model. Like a Qcomm transition in India from physical retailers like Dmart/Kirana Shops

[Mark Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adrian Slywotzky provides the best framework for helping corporate titans overcome "institutional memory." Slywotzky's Value Migration (in-flows and out-flows) gives executives an early warning system that indicates when it is time to transform their business and recapture value. Critical in Slywotzky's work is his research into the benefit of being a "first mover." In many cases, second and third place companies never realize an appropriate return for their investments when they act slowly to changing market or customer conditions. Slywotsky's Value Migration is timeless. Published in 1996, the book predates Internet 2.0, but its lessons are still valuable and relevant today.

[Tony Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best marketing book I read at Fuqua School of Business. If clients leave ... if employees leave ... you better wake up. It's time to stop value from migrating AWAY from your business. Tony McLean Brown www.HappyGuidetoaShortLife.com

[Dwight Walker]

need help beating competition - usually large IT companies or telcos who take all my market when they catch up

[Test · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Rahul Rajamuthiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty long yet a comprehensive view of business movements

[Sanjeev Panda]

Outstanding book, a must read for long term investors, business consultants and industry analysts. Multi year value migration explained well in some of the sectors, worth a read !