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    Big Winners and Big Losers

     
    11/21/2005

    More than a few books in recent years have attempted to pin down the reasons why some companies are “winners” and others “losers.” While the secrets revealed here will not likely surprise you—they are 1) a niche strategy that balances 2) agility, 3) discipline, and 4) focus—this book wins for credibility. It is backed up by serious research into the 1,000 largest U.S. corporations in the decade ending in 2002, the author has published in the top management journals, and it is well-organized and clearly written for an audience of managers.

    The companies that he highlights are not the usual round of Wal-Mart and Home Depot, either. From the 1,000 companies, Marcus selected nine from the top 3 percent that outperformed their industry’s average market performance. These nine are not household names, but may be worth watching as quiet trailblazers: Amphenol, SPX, Fiserv, Dreyer’s, Forest Labs, Ball, Brown and Brown, Family Dollar, and Activision. Marcus explains, “These firms had few direct competitors that competed head to head with them in all the markets in which they participated. They picked niches, or specialty markets that other firms tended to ignore or avoid. They also were generally smaller than their competitors. This meant that they could escape easy detection by their rivals.”

    After briefly profiling these companies, the book focuses more deeply on their success factors of agility, discipline, focus, and the necessity of coordinating all three. This choice makes the book practical rather than just educational.

    Marcus, a chaired professor of strategic management and technological leadership at the University of Minnesota, has also written or co-edited eleven other books.

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