This collection of ten articles on business strategy is a testament to the quality of the Harvard Business Review. The articles are top notch, and teach a lot of the difficult art of business strategy. The benefit comes in the fact that this is a collection. Rather than having to search out through disparate books you get all of them in one nice package. The main focus of these articles rests on three foundations: placing your business into a strong position, organizing your company into an efficient machine, and recognizing the environment you are operating in.

What is Strategy? by Michael E. Porter

The main thrust of this article, by the guru of business strategy shows that when companies compete on operational effectiveness, they are bound to lose over the long run, as other companies will be able to copy their practices quickly, and businesses will start to look alike. Whereas, by using strategic positioning by putting a business into a distinctive position that is hard to copy a company can thrive. One does this by performing different activities from rivals, or doing similar activities in different ways.

The Five Competitive Forces that Face Strategy by Michael E. Porter

Here Porter analyzes all the major factors facing a company. These are the customers, suppliers, entrants, substitute offerings, and established rivals. One must look beyond the competitive rivals to place oneself in a strong strategic position. These forces can all work against a company, but a smart strategist will use them all to his or her advantage. One cannot merely list out the options for each of these forces but look deeply and creatively into the problems they propose.

Building Your Company’s Vision by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras

To truly succeed in business, a company needs two things: a core ideology and an envisioned future. The core ideology is a guiding light or ideals that explains why the company exists, beyond making money. It is something that can never be completely achieved but always striven for which keeps the company on track. The envisioned future is the reachable goals that a company must set for itself along that path. They should be “big hairy audacious goals (BHAGs.) These are attainable but fluid goals that can change with changing market conditions. This duality of a core ideology and an envisioned future can apply to one’s life in addition to one’s business.

Reinventing Your Business Model by Mark W. Johnson, Clayton M. Christensen and Henning Kagerman

To truly succeed in business and life one needs a great business model. Impressive business models remake entire industries and create amazing development. Knowing whether to change your business model is a difficult question to answer, but there are some steps that make it easier. 1. Articulate what

makes your existing model successful. 2. Watch for signals that your model needs changing, such as tough new competitors on the horizon. 3. Decide whether reinventing your model is worth the effort. The answer’s yes only if the new model changes the industry or market. If you do decide to take the plunge and reinvent your business or life model, I wish you luck and expect great returns.

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Ki and Renee Mauborgne

This is possibly my favorite article in the book. The article tells businesses and individuals to stop competing in overcrowded industries, or red oceans. These markets and industries become cutthroat and the water fills with blood. Instead find uncontested market spaces where the competition is irrelevant, blue oceans. If you can find this uncontested space, and it is everywhere, you can make enormous profits and thrive for years to come. Read this article if you only decide to read one.

The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution by Gary L. Neilson, Karla L. Martin and Elizabeth Powers

Even if you have a great strategy, found your uncontested space, and are poised to make unbelievable gains, all this is for nothing if you do not execute. Implementation is one of the hardest parts of strategy development but it does not have to be. In fact it can be quite easy if you plan for two things in your strategy; who gets to make what decisions, and ensuring information flows where it’s needed. Be critical of who is best situated to make certain decisions. Do not hoard them because you feel special or powerful, there is probably someone more capable or knowledgeable to make certain decisions effectively.

Also be sure to keep your business in tiptop shape by having people work together to spread information. Managers need to move both laterally and vertically, so as not to create silos in your company. If people work together they are bound to share best practices and much needed information. With these two things implemented into your strategy things get much easier.

Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton

Most companies self evaluate solely using the budget. Which makes sense, there are easy to follow numbers on a budget. It is much harder to track the intangibles. But the intangibles are where the strategy meets its greatest obstacles, and where the greatest success lies. So in addition to tracking the budget of a company, leadership should also focus on three things. 1. A company’s relationship with its customers. 2. The key internal processes. 3. Its learning and growth. By adding these things into a quarterly and yearly review, there will be more cross business buy in and a focus on true implementation of the strategy.

Transforming Corner-Office Strategy into Frontline Action by Orit Gadiesh and James L. Gilbert

A company needs a strong strategic principle that it follows at all times. If a company has one and focuses on it, all employees can base their decisions off of it. If a decision applies to the principle, even though it is something that hasn’t been done before it is likely to be a good idea. Think Southwest Airlines, “Meet customers’ short-haul travel needs at fares competitive with the cost of automobile travel.” If a decision that needs to be made follows this principle, Southwest implements it. If not, they don’t do it even if it might make them more money in the short term. By sticking to a simple and easy principle, decisions about strategy become much simpler.

Turning Great Strategy into Great Performance by Michael C. Mankins and Richard Steele

Strategy rarely delivers in the business world. But you can make it more likely that it will if you follow certain principles. These include keeping your strategy simple and concrete, identify priorities, challenge assumptions, and continuously monitor performance as you roll out your strategic plan. If these rules are followed, your strategy has a much higher chance of continued success. Which is all anyone really wants.

Who Has the D? How Clear Decision Roles Enhance Organizational Performance by Paul Rogers and Marcia Blenko

Who decides what? That is the eternal question. It is what gives strategy teeth and accountability. But it is often forgotten and lost in the hubbub of business meetings and the day to day life. Paul Rogers and Marcia Blenko advise using the RAPID system to make decisions. Each letter corresponds to a role for someone in a decision making process. Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, and Decide are the core people of any decision. It gives certain roles, and makes decision making more fluid and less challenging. It also gets rid of the bike-shed problem of most businesses. Where no one argues the production of a manufacturing plant, but everyone has an opinion of what the bike shed next to it should look like. Once the person that gets to make the decision decides, it is final and the right people are held accountable. You will be amazed at how RAPIDly your business improves.

All of these articles serve as great guidelines in managing not only your business but even your life. They allow one to see the opportunities that no one else sees, while understanding the trade offs that come in life. Strategy is simple to understand, but hard to implement. These great authors do their best to lighten the load. Read this book to better grasp an elusive topic. It may not be for everyone, but those that need it can find no better substitute.