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Lucro a partir do Core Business: Como retomar o crescimento em tempos incertos
Quando foi publicado em 2001, Lucro a partir do core business tornou-se um sucesso de vendas internacional, ajudando centenas de empresas a encontrar o caminho de volta ao crescimento com lucratividade após a explosão da bolha da Internet. A crise financeira global de 2007 reafirmou os perigos de perseguir o alto crescimento por meio de estratégias não testadas, pois empresas em segmentos como finanças, varejo e automóveis que se desviaram muito de seus core businesses sofreram consequências desastrosas.
Nesta edição atualizada, Chris Zook e James Allen mostram que um foco renovado no core é mais crítico do que nunca, à medida que as empresas buscam reconstruir sua vantagem competitiva enquanto se recuperam da recessão - e que um core forte será o alicerce para a expansão com sucesso ao passo que a economia se recupera. Com base em mais de 10 anos de pesquisas e análises realizadas pela Bain & Company e repleto de exemplos atuais de empresas que reagiram à última recessão, este livro apresenta o que os executivos e gestores de hoje precisam saber para revitalizar o seu core, expandi-lo com eficácia e identificar a próxima onda de crescimento com lucratividade.
Zook e Allen explicam como sua empresa pode:
• Desenvolver um core forte e bem definido e usá-lo para estabelecer uma posição de liderança
• Seguir a regra de ouro da estratégia: desencorajar os concorrentes a investir em seu core
• Avaliar se seu core está operando seu pleno potencial
• Descobrir ativos ocultos em seu core que fornecem as sementes para o novo crescimento
• Encontrar uma fórmula repetível para aplicar os pontos fortes do core do seu negócio em mercados adjacentes
Explorando ideias consistentes e comprovadas para enfrentar os imensos desafios de negócios da atualidade, Lucro a partir do core business é o guia que retoma os princípios básicos da estratégia do qual nenhum gestor pode prescindir.
Nesta edição atualizada, Chris Zook e James Allen mostram que um foco renovado no core é mais crítico do que nunca, à medida que as empresas buscam reconstruir sua vantagem competitiva enquanto se recuperam da recessão - e que um core forte será o alicerce para a expansão com sucesso ao passo que a economia se recupera. Com base em mais de 10 anos de pesquisas e análises realizadas pela Bain & Company e repleto de exemplos atuais de empresas que reagiram à última recessão, este livro apresenta o que os executivos e gestores de hoje precisam saber para revitalizar o seu core, expandi-lo com eficácia e identificar a próxima onda de crescimento com lucratividade.
Zook e Allen explicam como sua empresa pode:
• Desenvolver um core forte e bem definido e usá-lo para estabelecer uma posição de liderança
• Seguir a regra de ouro da estratégia: desencorajar os concorrentes a investir em seu core
• Avaliar se seu core está operando seu pleno potencial
• Descobrir ativos ocultos em seu core que fornecem as sementes para o novo crescimento
• Encontrar uma fórmula repetível para aplicar os pontos fortes do core do seu negócio em mercados adjacentes
Explorando ideias consistentes e comprovadas para enfrentar os imensos desafios de negócios da atualidade, Lucro a partir do core business é o guia que retoma os princípios básicos da estratégia do qual nenhum gestor pode prescindir.
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 5, 2010
103 people are currently reading
764 people want to read
About the author
Chris Zook
30 books29 followersChris Zook is a business writer and partner at Bain & Company, leading its Global Strategy Practice.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 19, 2024
Had to read this for work but I’m so behind on my reading challenge that it’s gotta count
February 13, 2021
Fin bog som min chef anbefalede mig at læse. Den er relevant for den situation, som telebranchen befinder sig i med faldende marginer. Den stiller svære intellektuel spørgsmål. Men som med alle management bøger og særligt consulting bøger, jeg har læst, så er meget af det også lidt “pseudo” science agtigt
September 15, 2025
Achieving sustained and profitable growth is extremely difficult without having at least one strong and differentiated core business on which to build. The most enduring growth pattern is that of the strong, or dominant, core business that benefits from continual reinvestment, constant adaptation to circumstances or business environment, and persistent leveraging into new markets or geographics, applications, or channels. The 3 critical steps for a management team developing, refining, or re-examining its company's growth strategy: 1) define the business boundaries and your own core business; 2) identify and verify sources of differentiation that will continue to create market power and influence over customers, competitors, and industry profit pools; 3) comb through the core and assess whether it is operating at or near its full economic potential.
Remember - the first paradox of growth is that the strongest core business are typically underperforming the most relative to their full potential. The most successful sustained growth companies almost always föllow the pattern of expanding in a regular and organized way into a series of adjacencies around 1-2 strong cores. The pattern resembles the growth rings of a tree, emanating out from the center, expanding and reinforcing the core. Determining which adjacencies to pursue and how much to invest in them relative to the core ranks at the top of difficult and seminal decisions for any company in its quest for sustained growth. Industry turbulence is hitting more rapidly and powerfully than ever. Decision times are shortening, uncertainty is increasing, and the range of fundamental strategic choices is widening. Many challenges executives face require partial or complete rethinking of the fundamentals of their core business. Do not redefine the core without a clear vision and set of strategic principles on which the management team agrees. Do not redefine the core without first establishing a common point of view on how turbulence might play out and what positioning in the marketplace provides the greatest competitive advantage. Explore the full range of structural options to balance for need for integration with the original core and the need for speed, which can be achieved with a separate. entity. Overinvest in management capacity and management processes at the start of a redefinition program. Recognize the inherent uncertainty that has triggered the need to consider redefining a core business, which may require hedging strategies and diagnostics for constantly measuring "the strategic dashboard" and make mid-course corrections. Very few companies actually.grow profitably and sustainably, though all plan to do so. Building unique strength in a core business, no matter how small or narrowly focused, is the key to subsequent growth. Many companies that neglect this principal retrench and return to the core. Sometimes, the right strategy is to shrink to grow, going back to the core of the core. Most management teams underestimate the growth potential of their core and fail to mine all of its hidden value growth. The best core businesses are often the greatest underperformers relative to their true potential-the paradox of leadership. Most successful companies achieve most of their growth by expanding into logical adjacencies that have shared economics and reinforce the core business, not from unrelated diversifications or moves into "hot" markets. The best route to sustained and profitable growth is expansion into a series of adjacencies using a repeatable formula, built from the most differentiating elements of a strong core. Many of the most damaging mistakes in strategy derive from lack of self awareness in the core, not from external events or competitive moves. Industry turbulence often demands the leader redefine their company's core business at a time when it appears at the height of its power. This crisis of the core is one of the most difficult challenges; few companies have navigated it well. Achieving growth is hard because organizations protect the status quo, and growth requires change. Reflect on your own business: where is our current business in its growth cycle (optimizing the core, adjacencies, redefinition)? How many resources are focused on areas with potential to build market power and influence and drive for leadership economics in the core? How many are focused on inevitable follower positions? What really is the full potential of the core, and where does that potential reside (e.g., share gain in the core, shift business mix to growing segments/channels, pricing, new core products, cost reduction, new customers or share gain of existing, adjacencies with new products or customers)? Is there a repeatable formula driving share gain or success in adjacency expansion? Have you taken full advantage of the power of repeatability? What is the state of the core— where is it under threat, eroding, strengthening? How does the core need to change? How will you do it? Are unconventional competitors making incursions at the fringe of your business? Does it signal the need to adapt the core faster, and how? Ask yourself: what is the most tightly defined profitable core of our business, and is it gaining or losing strength? What defines the boundaries of the business that we are competing for, and where are those boundaries going to shift in the future? Are there new competitors currently at the fringe of our business that pose potential longer-term threats to the core? Are we certain we're achieving the full strategic and operating potential of our core business, the hidden value of the core? What is the full set of potential adjacencies to our core business and possible adjacency moves? Are we looking at these in a planned, logical sequence or piecemeal? What is our POV on the future of the industry? Do we have consensus? How is this POV shaping our adjacency strategy and point of arrival? Should major new growth initiatives be pursued inside, next to, or outside the core? How should we decide? Is industry turbulence changing the fundamental source of future competitive advantage? How? Through new models? New segments? New competitors? And what are we monitoring on a regular basis? Are organizational enablers and inhibitors to growth the right balance for the needed change? What are the guiding strategic principles that should apply consistently to all the major strategic and operating decisions?
Remember - the first paradox of growth is that the strongest core business are typically underperforming the most relative to their full potential. The most successful sustained growth companies almost always föllow the pattern of expanding in a regular and organized way into a series of adjacencies around 1-2 strong cores. The pattern resembles the growth rings of a tree, emanating out from the center, expanding and reinforcing the core. Determining which adjacencies to pursue and how much to invest in them relative to the core ranks at the top of difficult and seminal decisions for any company in its quest for sustained growth. Industry turbulence is hitting more rapidly and powerfully than ever. Decision times are shortening, uncertainty is increasing, and the range of fundamental strategic choices is widening. Many challenges executives face require partial or complete rethinking of the fundamentals of their core business. Do not redefine the core without a clear vision and set of strategic principles on which the management team agrees. Do not redefine the core without first establishing a common point of view on how turbulence might play out and what positioning in the marketplace provides the greatest competitive advantage. Explore the full range of structural options to balance for need for integration with the original core and the need for speed, which can be achieved with a separate. entity. Overinvest in management capacity and management processes at the start of a redefinition program. Recognize the inherent uncertainty that has triggered the need to consider redefining a core business, which may require hedging strategies and diagnostics for constantly measuring "the strategic dashboard" and make mid-course corrections. Very few companies actually.grow profitably and sustainably, though all plan to do so. Building unique strength in a core business, no matter how small or narrowly focused, is the key to subsequent growth. Many companies that neglect this principal retrench and return to the core. Sometimes, the right strategy is to shrink to grow, going back to the core of the core. Most management teams underestimate the growth potential of their core and fail to mine all of its hidden value growth. The best core businesses are often the greatest underperformers relative to their true potential-the paradox of leadership. Most successful companies achieve most of their growth by expanding into logical adjacencies that have shared economics and reinforce the core business, not from unrelated diversifications or moves into "hot" markets. The best route to sustained and profitable growth is expansion into a series of adjacencies using a repeatable formula, built from the most differentiating elements of a strong core. Many of the most damaging mistakes in strategy derive from lack of self awareness in the core, not from external events or competitive moves. Industry turbulence often demands the leader redefine their company's core business at a time when it appears at the height of its power. This crisis of the core is one of the most difficult challenges; few companies have navigated it well. Achieving growth is hard because organizations protect the status quo, and growth requires change. Reflect on your own business: where is our current business in its growth cycle (optimizing the core, adjacencies, redefinition)? How many resources are focused on areas with potential to build market power and influence and drive for leadership economics in the core? How many are focused on inevitable follower positions? What really is the full potential of the core, and where does that potential reside (e.g., share gain in the core, shift business mix to growing segments/channels, pricing, new core products, cost reduction, new customers or share gain of existing, adjacencies with new products or customers)? Is there a repeatable formula driving share gain or success in adjacency expansion? Have you taken full advantage of the power of repeatability? What is the state of the core— where is it under threat, eroding, strengthening? How does the core need to change? How will you do it? Are unconventional competitors making incursions at the fringe of your business? Does it signal the need to adapt the core faster, and how? Ask yourself: what is the most tightly defined profitable core of our business, and is it gaining or losing strength? What defines the boundaries of the business that we are competing for, and where are those boundaries going to shift in the future? Are there new competitors currently at the fringe of our business that pose potential longer-term threats to the core? Are we certain we're achieving the full strategic and operating potential of our core business, the hidden value of the core? What is the full set of potential adjacencies to our core business and possible adjacency moves? Are we looking at these in a planned, logical sequence or piecemeal? What is our POV on the future of the industry? Do we have consensus? How is this POV shaping our adjacency strategy and point of arrival? Should major new growth initiatives be pursued inside, next to, or outside the core? How should we decide? Is industry turbulence changing the fundamental source of future competitive advantage? How? Through new models? New segments? New competitors? And what are we monitoring on a regular basis? Are organizational enablers and inhibitors to growth the right balance for the needed change? What are the guiding strategic principles that should apply consistently to all the major strategic and operating decisions?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2025
A fantastic read that should be mandatory for anyone running a business. The author lays out a compelling case on why leaders need to spend time reflecting on what the true drivers of value are for their business. The core generates the majority of a business's profits but many managers misidentify it and it is one of the most under-utilized resources they have access to. Successful managers will identify their core, invest behind it, and grow into adjacent markets with repeatable frameworks where they aren't going up against an entrenched incumbent. Build a multi-step adjacency map (pg 79) to identify potential expansion markets as adjacent M&A has a failure rate of 20-25% versus 50% for typical deals. Expanding too broadly risks diworsifying like Vivendi or Saachi & Saachi did and often destroys capital. Even within the existing portfolio, put effort into strengthening your best businesses rather than fixing your worst ones.
To identify the core of a business, look for the Pareto Principle. Are there particular products, customers, distribution channels, or end markets that drive outsize value? Specifically look for 1) most profitable (or potentially profitable) franchise customers; 2) differentiated capabilities; 3) most critical product offerings; 4) most important distribution channels; or 5) other critical strategic assets that contribute to 1-4 such as patents, brands, or controlling a point within a network.
Other financial frameworks to identify businesses with a strong core: 1) High relative market share: products, distribution channels, or end markets where your market share is much larger than the next nearest competitor; 2) Strong reinvestment rates relative to peers as defined by R&D + A&P + capex as a percentage of sales; 3) high customer retention rates; 4) 10 years of maintaining 5.5% sales/profit CAGR and ROIC > WACC. Only ~12% of companies pass this screen and three quarters of them have high relative market share compared to peers. High relative share allows you to set the rules for an industry. Public market investors can look for spin-offs as a good pond to fish in. The simultaneous combination of refocusing on the core and gaining control of capital allocation can be a powerful accelerant.
The author estimates roughly half of global profits are in structurally declining industries so the incentive to diversify the portfolio is strong for most managers. Reenvisioning your core is sometimes necessary. Most 100-year-old companies fully turned over their corporate portfolio at some point in their history. Gartner is an example of a company that pivoted, identified a new core, invested heavily behind it, and now dominates its market. However, tread lightly here as reinvention is a risky endeavor. Admit defeat quickly here. Watch for new entrants quickly gaining share at low prices points as a warning signal for future disruption. Overinvest in management capabilities at periods of transition to minimize risks.
To identify the core of a business, look for the Pareto Principle. Are there particular products, customers, distribution channels, or end markets that drive outsize value? Specifically look for 1) most profitable (or potentially profitable) franchise customers; 2) differentiated capabilities; 3) most critical product offerings; 4) most important distribution channels; or 5) other critical strategic assets that contribute to 1-4 such as patents, brands, or controlling a point within a network.
Other financial frameworks to identify businesses with a strong core: 1) High relative market share: products, distribution channels, or end markets where your market share is much larger than the next nearest competitor; 2) Strong reinvestment rates relative to peers as defined by R&D + A&P + capex as a percentage of sales; 3) high customer retention rates; 4) 10 years of maintaining 5.5% sales/profit CAGR and ROIC > WACC. Only ~12% of companies pass this screen and three quarters of them have high relative market share compared to peers. High relative share allows you to set the rules for an industry. Public market investors can look for spin-offs as a good pond to fish in. The simultaneous combination of refocusing on the core and gaining control of capital allocation can be a powerful accelerant.
The author estimates roughly half of global profits are in structurally declining industries so the incentive to diversify the portfolio is strong for most managers. Reenvisioning your core is sometimes necessary. Most 100-year-old companies fully turned over their corporate portfolio at some point in their history. Gartner is an example of a company that pivoted, identified a new core, invested heavily behind it, and now dominates its market. However, tread lightly here as reinvention is a risky endeavor. Admit defeat quickly here. Watch for new entrants quickly gaining share at low prices points as a warning signal for future disruption. Overinvest in management capabilities at periods of transition to minimize risks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2024
Business book about how to return to growth during turbulent times, to recognize what is core to your business and where you may have the most untapped profit potential.
Chris Zook and James Allen draw on their research from Bain & Company and conclude that the most sustainable value growing companies have been ones that have stuck to their core and been creative in expanding it. They argue that in turbulent times companies tend to be either too slow in redefining and changing their business or to desperately grasp for other potentially profitable adjacency acquisitions that distract focus and capital away from their core and thereby erode profits.
The book is interesting as it argues that it requires focus, analysis and speed of action to build and develop your core in times of turbulence, which I believe we can safely say has affected business for the past +10 years. Reading the book in 2024, however, clearly illustrates how old the book. I love a data rich book which Bain must have unique access to, but you can clearly tell it hasn’t been updated since it was written in 2010 – Nokia is heralded as the king of cell phones and Dell the clear market leader in personal computers. Apple is only mentioned as a disruptor of music players and Amazon is merely used as a case study for book shop disruption. I hope they update the case studies if reprinting this.
I think their ideas are pretty solid, that you need to know your business and its core and that most likely, your best performing business unit is performing the furthest from its full potential. They encourage you to analyze your profit pool, the competitive landscape and your competitive advantage. There’s an interesting quote by Jeff Bezos “it helps to base your strategy on things that won’t change”. They also argue companies that have grown significantly ahead of their rivals base their strategy on growth, customer loyalty and high reinvestment rates. To track your customer through their life phases and choreograph your sales and marketing around these events of greatest propensity to purchase as well as expanding their menu for purchases with share of wallet adjacencies.
Chris Zook and James Allen draw on their research from Bain & Company and conclude that the most sustainable value growing companies have been ones that have stuck to their core and been creative in expanding it. They argue that in turbulent times companies tend to be either too slow in redefining and changing their business or to desperately grasp for other potentially profitable adjacency acquisitions that distract focus and capital away from their core and thereby erode profits.
The book is interesting as it argues that it requires focus, analysis and speed of action to build and develop your core in times of turbulence, which I believe we can safely say has affected business for the past +10 years. Reading the book in 2024, however, clearly illustrates how old the book. I love a data rich book which Bain must have unique access to, but you can clearly tell it hasn’t been updated since it was written in 2010 – Nokia is heralded as the king of cell phones and Dell the clear market leader in personal computers. Apple is only mentioned as a disruptor of music players and Amazon is merely used as a case study for book shop disruption. I hope they update the case studies if reprinting this.
I think their ideas are pretty solid, that you need to know your business and its core and that most likely, your best performing business unit is performing the furthest from its full potential. They encourage you to analyze your profit pool, the competitive landscape and your competitive advantage. There’s an interesting quote by Jeff Bezos “it helps to base your strategy on things that won’t change”. They also argue companies that have grown significantly ahead of their rivals base their strategy on growth, customer loyalty and high reinvestment rates. To track your customer through their life phases and choreograph your sales and marketing around these events of greatest propensity to purchase as well as expanding their menu for purchases with share of wallet adjacencies.
July 14, 2021
Profit from the Core addresses a fundamental challenge related to running a business, namely, what is the scope of that business? Somewhat unsurprisingly, the authors identify the core of the business as the main area of focus for growth: Oftentimes, achieving outsized growth comes from investing in the best performing areas of the business; the other, underperforming businesses are at best a distraction. The natural follow-up of this is that M&A to expand scope in hopes of pursuing growth is highly risky in most cases. These seem to be fairly intuitive with even a precursory background in corporate strategy.
Where the book could have added the most value, was in later chapters discussing the ever evolving core - as market threats are more likely to come from new entrants outside of the direct industry, and new techonologies and services become threats (a la Digital Cameras and Kodak.) The authors provide some great questions to further the discussion of this, and it is certain that there is no easy answer that is applicable to even most cases. However, the authors could have built a stronger framework for answering this. Instead, we'll be stuck hiring them at their normal consulting rate.
Where the book could have added the most value, was in later chapters discussing the ever evolving core - as market threats are more likely to come from new entrants outside of the direct industry, and new techonologies and services become threats (a la Digital Cameras and Kodak.) The authors provide some great questions to further the discussion of this, and it is certain that there is no easy answer that is applicable to even most cases. However, the authors could have built a stronger framework for answering this. Instead, we'll be stuck hiring them at their normal consulting rate.
July 21, 2023
Mediocre
I really had a hard time reading this book. Yes it is not a marketing one and it is strategy but the narrative is quite slow and boring. This is more a lecture book than a strategy hand book for business professionals. The main points and ideas are strong and they make sense but they are quite repetitive. It is also very disappointing that even this book defends the idea of a core, it does not even cite one word of Al Ries’s “Positioning” which is one of the cornerstones of marketing and strategy. I think I did not enjoy this read and would not recommend it. You could just go for “positioning” and grab the main idea from there with much better examples and easiness to read.
I really had a hard time reading this book. Yes it is not a marketing one and it is strategy but the narrative is quite slow and boring. This is more a lecture book than a strategy hand book for business professionals. The main points and ideas are strong and they make sense but they are quite repetitive. It is also very disappointing that even this book defends the idea of a core, it does not even cite one word of Al Ries’s “Positioning” which is one of the cornerstones of marketing and strategy. I think I did not enjoy this read and would not recommend it. You could just go for “positioning” and grab the main idea from there with much better examples and easiness to read.
March 2, 2021
Picked this one up after a recommendation from a peer. Felt like little more than a consultant’s freebie leave behind after a sales call. The premise doesn’t stray far from common business best practice and the case studies seem to be determined primarily by survivor bias. There’s not much in this book you can’t find a in much more insightful and better written book elsewhere.
The second star was warranted simply because there were a couple of highlight-able passages in the otherwise forgettable book.
The second star was warranted simply because there were a couple of highlight-able passages in the otherwise forgettable book.
August 4, 2017
Boss recommended this book as it is so appropriate for the Casual Dining space and Chili's specific goals today...a little bit of a snoozer but definitely got more relatable later on. Good for higher management and those that make the decisions to read and digest. Lots of real-life examples and stats that put things in perspective.
October 3, 2024
A masterpiece of business strategy. This book is filled with ideas, cases and questions that will be useful for any business leader. Although some cases might feel outdated (most from around the 2000s), the concepts covered are timeless and more relevant than ever during this time of disruption.
July 24, 2019
I read the original version of this book 20 or so years ago. There are only a few books that stick with you for so long. The core concept is fundamental to corporate success. Must read.
August 22, 2019
Interesting
November 6, 2019
Love the focus of building out understanding of, measuring, and accelerating your core assets. Where there is focus, there is progress.
March 8, 2020
Another downgraded Porter.
January 9, 2021
Good
It is a good book yet it doesn't present you with a framework . The author's examples though makes the reading worth your while.
It is a good book yet it doesn't present you with a framework . The author's examples though makes the reading worth your while.
October 9, 2021
Very repetitive. Could have been a paper 1/8th the size of the book
December 23, 2021
A rather old book; the context, is perhaps a bit lost on me, now. It was something, I read well in the past. Recommended.
April 23, 2022
Some useful mental models and diagrams, but didn't have a strong narrative. Felt like it could have been a whitepaper.
October 13, 2022
Excellent book!
May 23, 2025
my dad told me to read this. there were a lot of words i didn't know but future me will probably understand this
August 19, 2020
Krista Guillen July 29, 2020
Profit from the Core
Chris Zook, James Allen
This book was recommended by my dad, though I'm currently still in high school and have not worked in an important business I was able to relate this book to everything. Since it focuses on the way to expand yourself, your business, or any other thing you could think of by focusing on your core and exploiting it. This book talks about focusing on building understanding towards your clients, employees, and your business which will lead your business to find a purpose and be able to become more productive because you know what you are striving for.
We have to understand that this is a world that is never staying the same, it is constantly changing, evolving. A world that is always opening different and new doors but the book says that we should focus on the core of the company. We should be able to adapt as the world changes, sometimes mentioning that if the environment no longer fits the core you had originally in mind changes it to fit but always trying to stick to the essence of the company, you value proposition.
In many books regarding business, it says that we should stick to our core and be able to become the best at it. I felt like the book was written with a great flow, expressing their idea in a very convincing way. But like in most business books, in my opinion, it makes all this process seem very easy to do, being able to find the core of a business is something extremely hard to accomplish. Anyways, this isn't a recipe book telling you exactly what to do to be able to find your core and be able to profit from your business, it is at the end of the day, a book that mainly gives a framework, methods and the author thoughts of how they think a business should work, starting from the inside out.
Profit from the Core
Chris Zook, James Allen
This book was recommended by my dad, though I'm currently still in high school and have not worked in an important business I was able to relate this book to everything. Since it focuses on the way to expand yourself, your business, or any other thing you could think of by focusing on your core and exploiting it. This book talks about focusing on building understanding towards your clients, employees, and your business which will lead your business to find a purpose and be able to become more productive because you know what you are striving for.
We have to understand that this is a world that is never staying the same, it is constantly changing, evolving. A world that is always opening different and new doors but the book says that we should focus on the core of the company. We should be able to adapt as the world changes, sometimes mentioning that if the environment no longer fits the core you had originally in mind changes it to fit but always trying to stick to the essence of the company, you value proposition.
In many books regarding business, it says that we should stick to our core and be able to become the best at it. I felt like the book was written with a great flow, expressing their idea in a very convincing way. But like in most business books, in my opinion, it makes all this process seem very easy to do, being able to find the core of a business is something extremely hard to accomplish. Anyways, this isn't a recipe book telling you exactly what to do to be able to find your core and be able to profit from your business, it is at the end of the day, a book that mainly gives a framework, methods and the author thoughts of how they think a business should work, starting from the inside out.
September 15, 2024
For managers and executives who are navigating the growth question.
Includes a comprehensive 3-part consideration of the growth question, framing it well using the idea of a 'core'.
It is a relatively short but comprehensive view of this question, providing examples, case studies and a systematic study of companies to determine the factors which can promote growth.
It includes practical questions, and ways of thinking to gauge your companies current standing.
Highly recommend.
Includes a comprehensive 3-part consideration of the growth question, framing it well using the idea of a 'core'.
It is a relatively short but comprehensive view of this question, providing examples, case studies and a systematic study of companies to determine the factors which can promote growth.
It includes practical questions, and ways of thinking to gauge your companies current standing.
Highly recommend.
April 1, 2020
As a business consultant you are probably always searching for the golden formula to sustainable profits for a company. What you do as a consultant should make a material difference to the journey of that company towards this profitable growth. So when two Bain consultants devote a book to this very topic, I was intrigued. As in a lot of typical business books, there is a simple premise underlying the 150 pages read: stick to your core & be damn good at it. The book is really well written and the case presented convincing. The problem of course is that all the supporting material is after the fact (an acceptable problem). A bigger problem lies in defining what that 'core' of company is? And what does it mean 'to stick' if your business environment is fundamentally changing? These topics get addressed, but the book is only an exploration into lines of thought around the topic and certainly no recipe. But that was not my expectation neither, so I was more than happy with the provided frameworks and methods.
September 18, 2013
In a world that is constantly changing opening up new opportunities, this book advocates focus on the company's core business. If the environment changes too much, then perhaps the core of the company would need to shift, it suggests.
I found that thesis to be logical. The book was easy to read and with many examples. Yet some of the then successful companies highlighted in the book are not still enjoying that success (a peril of writing a management book using live companies).
I recommend the book to management teams that are charting out where to go next, and whether to stick to their guns or move on.
I found that thesis to be logical. The book was easy to read and with many examples. Yet some of the then successful companies highlighted in the book are not still enjoying that success (a peril of writing a management book using live companies).
I recommend the book to management teams that are charting out where to go next, and whether to stick to their guns or move on.
April 18, 2016
I felt like this didn't say anything that Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies didn't already say...and say better. This was a lot of complicated strategy, over my head (understandably), and sometimes repetitive. I think it serves well as a reference for its particular topic, but as general core reading, it was a little bit too focused.
July 12, 2014
Maybe having just been through business school, the concept seemed overly simple. It is a great reminder if how important the core business us, but also something which I learned quite a bit about getting my MBA.
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