Technoleverage: Using the Power of Technology to Outperform the Competition

by F. Michael Hruby

TECHNOLEVERAGE Using the Power of Technology to Outperform the Competition "Respond to customers." "Cut costs to the bone." These are time-honored business tactics. But marketing consultant Michael Hruby has seen that getting technology "under your business" will do far more to boost sales, lift profits, and keep you competitive. His new book, Technoleverage, proves that today it is technology that drives competitive advantage. How? One way is to create technological breakthroughs (or borrow someone else's) that radically improve products. Hruby explains what injection molding did for the lowly tennis shoe, what robotics did for roadside billboards, and provides dozens more fascinating examples. Technology can also deliver products and services fast -- and to a customer's exact specifications. And of course, technology also improves the efficiency of operations ( cuts costs). Using real-world stories from companies in dozens of industries, Technoleverage shows how wise use of technology is the differentiating factor in exponential success. It shows how to get technology under your business to literally "lift" its profits, visibility, size, and value. A technology-driven business strategy applies to all types of firms, whether they invent new technologies, manufacture technological goods, sell technological services, integrate the technology of others, distribute technology -- or just plain use it. Whatever business a manager is in, Technoleverage explains how to seek out and fully exploit high-value technology improvements, for maximum profit improvement. F. MICHAEL HRUBY (Acton, MA) is president of Technology Marketing Group, a firm founded in 1984 to help companies manage and market their technologies. Technoleverage was prompted by managers' response to the idea that technology, when properly managed, can be an engine of growth for any business. His clients include Amoco, Avery Dennison, Fraser Paper, Georgia Pacific, Halliburton, Hercules, Rohm & Hass, and Unitrode.

239 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 1998