If You’re in a Dogfight, Become a Cat! Strategies for Long-Term Growth

A cutesy title isn’t enough to differentiate a familiar take on gaining the competitive advantage in this strategy guide from Sherman, who boasts over three decades of experience in management consulting. Now a teacher at Columbia Business School, Sherman reports discovering over the course of his career that most companies simply can’t sustain success; one study found that, over the last 50 years, only 13% of Fortune 100 companies showed as much as 2% real revenue growth annually from one decade to another. Here, he seeks to explain how businesses can create and maintain lasting growth. He distinguishes between “dogfights,” in which strength pays off in the short term but the fighters eventually get weary, and “catfights,” which use innovation. He urges readers to pick the latter, further suggesting taking up the three “strategic imperatives” of continuous innovation, meaningful product differentiation, and business alignment. Insisting there are no unwinnable industries, Sherman cites those companies that beat the odds and generate long-term profitable growth, including Netflix, Apple, Yellow Tail Wine, and Costco. The case studies are interesting, and M.B.A. students looking to grasp the subject may find this useful, but the titular metaphor isn’t enough to help this one stand out from the pack. (Jan.)