January 2011
How to Win with a Capabilities-Driven Strategy
In mid-December, Harvard Business Review Press published The Essential Advantage: How to Win with a Capabilities-Driven Strategy. Written by Booz & Company partners Paul Leinwand and Cesare Mainardi, the book makes a convincing—and profound—argument that most companies go about strategy the wrong way. They ask, “Where can we go?” or “Where can we grow?” They should be asking, “What can we be?” A capabilities-driven strategy begins with understanding how to create value in a distinctive way by means of a system of capabilities—an interlocking set of activities the company does better than anyone else. In a turbulent world, an advantaged capabilities system offers the chance to achieve not just a transient competitive edge, but a right to win that resides in the very essence of the company. The Essential Advantage is the centerpiece of a growing body of knowledge about capabilities-driven strategy. This is the most important work—with clients and in our research—we've done since we re-founded Booz & Company nearly three years ago. I've collected some of it here, or you can see the full collection of work on a special website devoted to the topic. Best wishes, Tom Stewart
Chief Marketing & Knowledge Officer
Testimonials
“This is a powerful book about strategy as choice. It demonstrates that coherence—treating your internal practices and your external business environment as interrelated and mutually focused—leads to competitive advantage. This path is not always easy to follow, but it will resonate at any company that is serious about its future.”
Ram Charan
Coauthor, The Game-Changer (with A.G. Lafley), and author, Boards That Deliver
“Paul Leinwand and Cesare Mainardi have captured a concept that is relevant for all of us in business today: Just because a company can doesn't mean it should. Their book's key insight — the idea of coherence — is of particular importance as companies face pressure to increase their comparable sales year over year and begin to turn outside of their core business to build revenue.”
Michael Roberts
Former President and Chief Operating Officer, McDonald's Corporation
view more testimonials >
Thinking Ahead
 Strategic Coherence: A surprisingly elusive goalA new survey shows executives to be remarkably disquieted about their company strategy. More than half of the respondents don't think they have a winning strategy. Two out of three companies admit that they don't have the capabilities needed to create value in the marketplace. Only one in five are fully confident that they have a right to win. And the vast majority agree that they're chasing far too many opportunities. measure your company's coherence > read the survey results > |
 Going for Growth (video)What is the role of capabilities in successful growth strategies? In the relentless quest for growth, some companies stretch their organizations too thin by operating in many disparate markets. Booz & Company partners Cesare Mainardi and Ken Favaro, in conversation with CMKO Tom Stewart, discuss the four growth avenues that companies can pursue and explain why a capabilities-driven growth strategy leads to sustainable competitive advantage. watch the video > |
