Why should I do business with you… and not your competitor? Whether you are a retailer, manufacturer, distributor, or service provider – if you cannot answer this question, you are surely losing customers, clients and market share. This eye-opening book reveals how identifying your competitive advantages and trumpeting them to the marketplace is the most surefire way to close deals, retain clients, and stay miles ahead of the competition. The five fatal flaws of most companies: ?  They don’t have a competitive advantage but think they do ?  They have a competitive advantage but don’t know what it is—so they lower prices instead ?  They know what their competitive advantage is but neglect to tell clients about it ?        They mistake “strengths” for competitive advantages ?         They don’t concentrate on competitive advantages when making strategic and operational decisions The good news is that you can overcome these costly mistakes – by identifying your competitive advantages and creating new ones. Consultant, public speaker, and competitive advantage expert Jaynie Smith will show you how scores of small and large companies substantially increased their sales by focusing on their competitive advantages. When advising a CEO frustrated by his salespeople’s inability to close deals, Smith discovered that his company stayed on schedule 95 percent of the time – an achievement no one else in his industry could claim. By touting this and other competitive advantages to customers, closing rates increased by 30 percent—and so did company revenues. Jack Welch has said, “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” This straight-to-the-point book is filled with insightful stories and specific steps on how to pinpoint your competitive advantages, develop new ones, and get the message out about them.  “The biggest marketing flaw in most companies is their failure to fully reap the benefits of their competitive advantages. Either they think they have a competitive advantage but don’t. Or they have one and don’t realize it. Or they know they have a strong competitive advantage but fail to promote it adequately to their customers and prospects. “In my research with middle-market companies, I found only two CEOs out of 1,000 who could clearly name their companies’ competitive advantages. The other 99.8 percent could offer only vague, imprecise generalities. These same CEOs often rely on outside consultants to guide strategic-planning sessions. Yet, in my experience, very few consultants – even seasoned ones – give competitive advantage evaluation more than a superficial glance…. “Ignoring your competitive advantages can be an expensive and even fatal mist

Price: $11.99 USD

The Possibilities Are Staggering: Had you invested $10,000 in Cisco Systems back in early 1990, your investment would now be worth $3,650,000 Similarly, a $10,000 investment made in Microsoft in 1986 would be valued at more than $4,721,000 today $10,000 invested in Yahoo! in 1996 would today be worth $317,000 How do you get in on those deals—especially if you're not a Silicon Valley insider? How do you buy the high-tech win-ners and avoid the losers? How do you find the Yahoo!s, Microsofts, and Ciscos of tomorrow? The answers are here, in this newly revised edition of the national bestseller The Gorilla Game. The book reveals the dynamics driving the market for high-tech stocks and out-lines the forces that catapult a select number of compa-nies to "gorilla" status—dominating the markets they serve in the way that Yahoo! dominates internet portals, Microsoft dominates software operating systems, and Cisco dominates hardware for data networks. Follow the rules of The Gorilla Game and you will learn how to identify and invest in the "gorilla candidates" early on—while they are still fighting for dominance, and while their stocks are still cheap. When the dust clears and one company clearly attains leadership in its market, you'll reap the enormous returns that foresighted investors in high-tech companies deserve. This new edition of The Gorilla Game has been updated and revised throughout, with new focus and new insights into choosing the internet gorillas—the companies that are destined to dominate internet commerce. Bestselling author Geoffrey A. Moore is one of the world's leading consultants in high-tech marketing strategy. Here you'll find his groundbreaking ideas about tech-nology markets that made his previous books bestsellers, combined with the work of Paul Johnson, a top Wall Street technology analyst, and Tom Kippola, a high-tech consul-tant and highly successful private investor. Together they have discovered and played the gorilla game and now give readers the real rules for winning in the world of high-tech investing. Step by step you'll learn how to spot a high-tech market that is about to undergo rapid growth and development, how to identify and spread investments across the potential gorillas within the market, and how to narrow your investments to the single, emerging leader—the gorilla—as the market matures. High-tech investing can be extremely risky, but investors who learn to play the gorilla game can avoid many of the traps and pitfalls and instead start capitalizing on untold profits. Personal wealth is only a gorilla game away.

Price: $13.99 USD

This is the eBook version of the printed book. Praise for Branding Yourself   " Branding Yourself is a good beginner's guide on how to build an online presence using social networks and blogs that will turn you into a thought leader or expert or just get you a job." –Dan Schawbel, #1 International Bestselling Author of Me 2.0   "The biggest problem most people have with embracing the power of online networking and personal brand building is they don't know where to start. Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy take out the guesswork and roll the dice with platforms to find the right combination for you in this book. The book is a recipe for success...your success."  –Jason Falls, SocialMediaExplorer.com    “In this exceedingly useful book, Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy provide step-by-step guidance for building and maintaining powerful personas. With wit, wisdom, and numerous expert tips, Branding Yourself is the new roadmap for navigating the sometimes complex world of personal branding. If your best marketing plan is you (and it is), then Branding Yourself should be your playbook.”  –Jay Baer, Coauthor of The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social   "Our parents taught us to find a great job with benefits, put money toward retirement, buy a home, and work hard, and you'll reap the benefits. Our parents were wrong . The job market was downsized; the retirement account was ransacked; the house lost its value; and working hard has only put you in the unemployment line. Those who personally branded themselves were able to capitalize on the down-turned economy, and their businesses exploded. Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy are providing you the blueprint for kicking off your brand and effectively leveraging online technologies to transform your future. [This book is] a must read." –Douglas Karr, Founder of the Marketing Technology blog, CEO of DK New Media, and Author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies   "In an environment filled with philosophy, platitudes, and '30,000-foot views,' Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy give us a refreshing how-to guide for actually doing something meaningful through social media. Here's a trustworthy book to help you (and me) take real action to leverage emerging tools to create customers and make them happy!" –Trey Pennington, Entrepreneur, Story Prospector, Author of Spitball Marketing   Use Social Media to Build a Great Personal Brand–and a Great Career!   Need to demonstrate more value to customers or employers? Want a new job or career? Use social media to build the powerful personal brand that gets you what you want! In Branding Yourself , two leading social media consultants show how to use today’s social media platforms to attract new business and job opportunities you&rsquo

Price: $15.99 USD

"If more business books were as useful, concise, and just plain fun to read as THE MCKINSEY WAY, the business world would be a better place." --Julie Bick, best-selling author of ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW IN BUSINESS I LEARNED AT MICROSOFT. "Enlivened by witty anecdotes, THE MCKINSEY WAY contains valuable lessons on widely diverse topics such as marketing, interviewing, team-building, and brainstorming." --Paul H. Zipkin, Vice-Dean, The Fuqua School of Business. It's been called "a breeding ground for gurus." McKinsey & Company is the gold-standard consulting firm whose alumni include titans such as "In Search of Excellence" author Tom Peters, Harvey Golub of American Express, and Japan's Kenichi Ohmae. When Fortune 100 corporations are stymied, it's the "McKinsey-ites" whom they call for help. In THE MCKINSEY WAY, former McKinsey associate Ethan Rasiel lifts the veil to show you how the secretive McKinsey works its magic, and helps you emulate the firm's well-honed practices in problem solving, communication, and management. He shows you how McKinsey-ites think about business problems and how they work at solving them, explaining the way McKinsey approaches every aspect of a task:. How McKinsey recruits and molds its elite consultants;. How to "sell without selling";. How to use facts, not fear them;. Techniques to jump-start research and make brainstorming more productive;. How to build and keep a team at the top its game;. Powerful presentation methods, including the famous waterfall chart, rarely seen outside McKinsey;. How to get ultimate "buy-in" to your findings;. Survival tips for working in high-pressure organizations. Both a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most admired and secretive companies in the business world and a toolkit of problem-solving techniques without peer, THE MCKINSEY WAY is fascinating reading that empowers every business decision maker to become a better strategic player in any organization.

Price: $27.95 USD

"I am impressed by Lamont's assessments of who will be the global winners and losers. Lamont holds back no punches. If you want to see the big picture, globally and technologically, read this book." —Philip Kotler, S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University "Too often, companies charge headlong into global business activities with little strategic thought, historical perpective or analysis of global trends. Douglas Lamont’s Salmon Day perspective provides these companies with necessary food for thought as they expand their global sales and investment activities, helping them to make informed choices on market entry strategy, as well as which markets to target and why." Ken Anderberg, Publisher and Editor, Atlanta International Magazine "In his new book, Douglas Lamont asks, 'Is America's number one position in the race toward globalization a permanent feature of economic reform or a cyclical result of current business conditions?' He thinks the U.S. has got it right and will thrive on globalization. He also concludes that China probably does not have it right and will suffer from globalization. I think he is wrong on both scores, but this is the most stimulating and well-informed discussion of these issues to be found anywhere. A must read for the manager who hopes to survive." —Chalmers Johnson, President, Japan Policy Research Institute Author of MITI and the Japanese Mirocle "All too many business people and pundits take for granted the continuous spread of the phenomena of globalization, cross-border trade and investment and new economic paradigms. They assume that the logic of American-style technology and consumerism is ineclutable. Douglas Lomant's Salmon Day shows conclusively that those who wish for this rich and rosy future have to work to make it happen. He points out where the traps are and how they can be avoided. Salmon Day is a valuable contribution because it is insightful and thought-provoking at the level of business and economic theory, while also providing the specific, hands-on, practical advice for business people so often locking in the grand theories of other consultants and experts." —Daniel Burstein, Senior Advisor, The Blackstone Group Author of Big Dragon: The Future of China "Douglas Lamont's book is not to be missed. Written in clear, provocative language, Salmon Day is never shy of the tough question. Lamont is certainly on target in articulating the challenges facing Japan and East Asia if they are to avoid the fate of salmon swimming upstream. His book ties together the many disparate elements that must be grasped to understand today's complex economy. This is straight talk about globalization - as it really is - and isn't. I consider it essential reading in the executive suite." —Patrick Smith, Author of Japan: A Reinterpretation

Price: $37.50 USD

Winner of Choice Magazine - Outstanding Academic Titles for 2007 'At last a business guide that's really about Business and a sustainability guide that's really about Sustainability. In this book Hitchcock and Willard cut through the polarizing debates and the all or nothing arguments with a stepwise approach that clearly articulates how businesses can improve their performance without it being at the expense of those around them.' Christopher Sheldon co-author of Environmental Management Systems (3rd edition) 'At a time when 'big' business is beginning to mean 'sustainable' business small businesses can easily get left out. Hitchcock and Willard have filled this vital gap admirably. This is a practical guide dotted with heartening examples of helping small businesses to adopt their sustainability mantles. An optimistic read.' Tim O'Riordan Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia UK 'People are frequently frustrated by the process of applying the broad theoretical concept of sustainability to concrete and practical applications. Hitchcock and Willard are uniquely skilled at helping organizations translate vision into action. They make sustainability accessible and understand how to leverage organizational dynamics to make a journey to sustainability possible.' Rick Woodward Corporate Director of Operations and Sustainability Coastwide Laboratories USA Sustainability promises both reduced environmental impacts and real cash savings for any organization - be it a business non-profit/NGO or government department. This easy-to-use manual has been written by top business consultants specifically to help managers business owners organizational leaders and aspiring environmental managers/sustainability coordinators to improve their organization's environmental social and economic performance. The authors demystify 'sustainability' untangle the plethora of sustainability frameworks tools and practices and make it easy for the average person in any organization to move towards sustainability. Organized by sector (manufacturing services and office operations and government) and common organizational functions (senior management facilities human resources purchasing environmental affairs and compliance marketing and public relations and finance and accounting) the authors show how organizations can incorporate sustainability into their everyday work through the application of useful tools and self-assessments.

Price: $49.95 USD

The essential guide to seamless product management for today’s fluid, unpredictable business world. Long considered the most useful and insightful guide of its kind, The Product Manager’s Handbook has been fully revised and updated to give you the edge in today’s challenging business landscape. It features expanded coverage of product development processes, intelligence-gathering techniques (including social media), and a greater emphasis on international issues. This indispensable resource proves that the techniques and tools product managers use are similar—regardless of what industry they work in and what kind of products they manage. Simply put, this book has everything you need for superior job performance—whether you manage consumer or business-to-business products created by an organization that is hierarchical or horizontal. The Product Manager’s Handbook shows you how to integrate your organization’s disparate segments into a cooperative, results-focused unit that produces satisfying products—from initial design through the postpurchase experience. If your job is to create and commercialize products, it provides the information you need to: Balance breakthroughs and line extensions; Create business cases—including competitive assessment, market requirements, and risk reduction; Conduct gate reviews and beta testing and manage scope creep; Get everything in order for a smooth product launch. For those who manage existing lines, this guide provides: Specific tips for each of the 4Rs of product life-cycle management; Brand guidelines; Approaches to customer message management; Advice on working with sales and the channel. Clear, easy-to-read charts show you how to manage each crucial step from conception to completion, and practical checklists help you evaluate progress at every stage. Interviews with seasoned product management consultants and top-performing product managers provide you with dynamic, proven strategies for addressing potential problems in marketing, production, cross-cultural communication, and more. The Product Manager’s Handbook examines current market-leading companies, the latest research findings, and evolving customer perceptions to provide you with the tools you need to design, produce, and market winning products—and beat the competition at every turn.

Price: $65.00 USD

Is my enterprise really prepared for future business? What can I do to become more competitive? Ulf Pillkahn's book is directed at all of those seeking answers to these questions: executives in strategic positions, business analysts, consultants, trend scouts, marketing and product managers and research engineers. The book presents the two most powerful tools for future planning: environmental analysis, based on the use of trends, as well as the development of visions of the future through the use of scenarios. While scenarios are generally regarded as a classical management tool, it is expected that the importance of trends will gain tremendously in the coming years. Pillkahn demonstrates how to build robust strategies by aligning the results of environmental and enterprise scenarios, thereby offering entirely new insights. "How to Develop and Use Trends and Scenarios" convincingly illustrates why efficient observation of the environment of an enterprise is an absolutely essential factor for strategy development, and why strategy development only works if it is institutionalized as a permanent enterprise process. It also addresses the issue of what information is needed to keep both processes running. The book further describes how trends can be categorized, and offers advice on how to glean the essential information from the vast variety of trends. Information is provided on how scenarios are used as a holistic instrument for creating visions and pictures of the future, and how the results of trend research and scenario techniques find their way into entrepreneurial strategy development. An optimized strategy development process is also outlined. Practical examples and real-life pictures of the future round off Pillkahn's insightful discussion of future business planning.

Price: $70.00 USD

Experience the forces behind the changes in the IT, Mobile Telecom and Media industries through real-life cases from this converging market! M obile Media and Applications - From Concept to Cash shows how to address the challenges of consumer marketing, technology strategy and delivery tactics for new 3G services from a pragmatic ‘how they did it’ approach. Combining the authors’ technical competence, business experience and consumer understanding, the book pinpoints the pitfalls and keys to success in the industry.  The authors offer an end-to-end view, covering customer needs, analysis of the many complex value chains, the capabilities and limitations of the technologies, and the packaging and launch of new mobile services.  Based on real case studies and experiences, analysis and advice is given to help the reader succeed in the real world. Mobile Media and Applications - From Concept to Cash: Explains how media companies can go mobile, how the telecoms, media and IT industries are converging and how even a frog can top the CD singles chart with a ringtone. Built heavily on case studies from real implementations and launches of services such as mobile TV, music and gaming. Describes how many service environments today are failing and highlights best practices to make them efficient and powerful. For the first time ever, the impact of mobile devices and customer behavior for mobile services is analyzed in depth. Offers an accompanying website with additional case studies, articles and links to the best developer forums and resources. Decision makers, professionals and application developers in the IT, Telecoms and Media industries, as well as enterprises, analysts, consultants, financial services, and journalists will find this an invaluable guide to creating successful mobile services. Advanced students in Electrical Engineering and Telecoms as well as business schools will find this book a useful addition to their reading list.

Price: $78.95 USD

Even during economic downturns businesses have to grow to survive and compete in domestic and international markets. There is always a need to plan for future growth.Enterprise Growth Strategy presents the total process of a growth strategy. The author, Dr Kumar, is an engineer who entered the academic world following a long career in manufacturing business and has since taught almost every aspect of business and management. The 'growth strategy' concept he has developed is comprehensive and manifestly practical.Dr. Kumar describes mechanisms by which businesses can gain market share; develop, modify, or upgrade products; acquire new or expand existing businesses; transform resources to increase revenue and profitability; reduce cycle time; and empower business associates. Quality concepts - market growth, financial and core competency - are outlined and a variety of growth strategy tools presented. The relationship between continuous improvement metrics and business growth metrics is explained and their relevance to financial performance examined. Examples and case studies are presented to illustrate how different business areas such as Sales and Marketing; Product Development; Operations; Support Services; and the Finance function, contribute. Leadership responsibilities, employee participation in the execution of growth strategy, culture and change issues are also discussed.Business leaders, managers and consultants, academics and teachers, as well as higher level students on business-related courses will find enormous value in this book. It is unusual, if not unique, in presenting the total process from vision to mission, to development of a growth strategy, implementation of initiatives, use of tools, and measurement of both operational and financial outcomes.

Price: $119.95 USD