Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy

by Joan Magretta

Fans of GE’s legendary CEO Jack Welch say their strategy is to be number 1 or number 2 in their business (or else!). For the new CEO of a Fortune 100 company, the strategy is “to grow.” For an energy company executive, the strategy is to “make key acquisitions.” A software developer says, “Our strategy is our people.” The strategy of a leading nonprofit is to “double the number of people we serve.” And then there is Google’s famous “Don’t be evil.” Is that a strategy? By the time you reach the end of this book, you will appreciate why none of the above would qualify as a “strategy,” which for Porter is shorthand for “a good competitive strategy that will result in sustainably superior performance.”