Andrew WhiteBook of the Month (February): Playing to Win – How Strategy Really Work, by A.G.Lafley, Roger L Martin, 2013, Harvard Business Review Press.
I loved this book. I used to work in consumer goods (Elizabeth Arden, 5 years) and much of the real world context made a lot of sense to me. This book is about choices, or how to make them – that is the essence of strategy. The master of P&G, ex CEO A.G.Lafley, uses the Olay story (and others) to explain how he and his partners developed a practical strategy framework to help make decisions, and how to enthuse the rest of the organization around these decisions. I was reminded of my early business planning straining (E.G.& G., Igor Ansoff – Corporate Strategy) and much of the process explained is predicable, connected, and valuable. This is a timely refresher for all of us, given that we are led to believe that strategy is so important. This book proves that it is not “strategy” that counts; but it is the decisions we take that is – that is the essence of strategy.
Do it. 10 out of 10.
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1 Book Review - A.G.Lafley's "Playing to Win - How Strategy Really Works" | I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you. | Scoop.it March 4, 2013 at 3:40 pm
[...] Book of the Month (February): Playing to Win – How Strategy Really Work, by A.G.Lafley, Roger L Martin, 2013, Harvard Business Review Press. I loved this book. I used to work in consumer goods (Elizabeth Arden, 5 years) and much of the real world… [...]
2 Book Review – A.G.Lafley's “Playing to Win – How Strategy Really … | Pulplit Magazine March 4, 2013 at 4:02 pm
[...] post: Book Review – A.G.Lafley's “Playing to Win – How Strategy Really … This entry was posted in Books and tagged agenda-manager, analytics, analytics-at-gartner, [...]