Compete Smarter, Not Harder: A Process for Developing the Right Priorities Through Strategic Thinking

by William Putsis

How to compete in the right space for greater profitability and growth The Internet, mobile technology, the ubiquity of information and the availability of big data have dramatically increased the speed and impact of success and failure. Companies today know that they must be competitive, but precisely where, and more importantly how, to compete is not always easy to identify―until now. Compete Smarter, Not Harder explains how to prioritize market opportunities so that a company's strengths in one area can be leveraged across multiple markets. Using cutting-edge academic research and extensive industry practice, author William Putsis outlines the strategic decisions needed to determine which space provides the best margins, overall profitability, and growth potential. Prioritize with conviction. Make absolutely sure that all of your hard work goes toward the right space.

Genres: Business

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

William Putsis focuses on the empirical application of game theoretic models of competition, competitive strategy, the marketing of private-label products, new product diffusion and product line strategy, international marketing, advertising and communications research, and sports marketing.

His numerous scholarly articles have been published in top journals, and he serves on the editorial board of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Review of Marketing Science and International Journal of Marketing Education. He served as a regular contributor and contributing editor to the Eastern European business journal, Business Tech International.

He has taught in executive non-degree programs for The Boeing Company, Barclays Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, ABN AMRO, Amcor, British Airways, Baker Hughes International, the U.S. Navy, Matsushita, KONE and ExxonMobil.

His consulting clients include The Boeing Company, Morgan Stanley, BASF, Sony Ericsson, Heinz, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI), Baker Hughes International, McCann-Erickson, Eastman Kodak, DHL Worldwide, Amcor, BBC World Service, Barclays Bank, ABN AMRO, Special Olympics International and British-American Tobacco.

He previously held faculty positions at Cornell University, Yale University and London Business School.

(source: http://onlinemba.unc.edu/faculty/bill...)

Reviews

[Mary Scott Lowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Putsis puts important lessons in marketing (especially product development) into fun, real-world stories containing tangible business advice. Read for a marketing strategy class, but will keep on my bookshelf for reference as I start to work.

[Alyssa Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of great marketing advice. Read this for marketing class and it went well with the lectures.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for the MBA program at UNC Chapel Hill, so the reading was supplemented with lectures about the material. I liked the numerous real life examples in the book to put concepts into context. He provides examples of companies that made poor decisions and those that made successful decisions. The author's background as a consultant adds depth to the book as well. After finishing the book, the main points I recall are the importance of determining the value chain and strategic control points; and designing products to meet customer needs rather than marketing a product to consumers.

[Jose Papo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book about strategy, competitive strategy, how to focus, prioritize and find market opportunities, targeting the right customers, defining points of positioning and much more. This is a great practival book about how to really think and execute business strategy. Very complete and holistic.

[Valkyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative and interesting book. I loved the real world examples of how business decisions were made and what led to the success or failure of those decisions. It definitely gave me a whole new perspective on successful marketing.