Carl W. SternThe Boston Consulting Group on Strategy: Classic Concepts and New Perspectives

I received the book just 2 days ago so cannot give an opinion on it.It is in like-new condition.

This book is a collection of short articles from a variety of Boston Consulting Group consultants including its founder Bruce Henderson from 1970 forward to 2005.It's split five parts: - The nature of business strategy - The development of business strategy - The practice of business strategy - Business thinking - Social commentaryThe main meat is in part 3 with sections for: - The customer, segmentation and value creation - Innovation and growth - Deconstruction of value chains - Performance measurement - Resource allocation - Organisational design - Leadership and changeAs you read through, you'll find a mixture of ideas that have passed into conventional strategic wisdom and perspectives that didn't catch onThe consultancy firm have had a huge impact on the theory and practice of strategy but the book is harder to assess. I found it very interesting to go back and read the original germination of ideas but I also found it frustrating. A book made up of a large collection of short articles is inevitably a patchwork. Ideas don't flow together as you would wish and there isn't the development of core ideas to a deeper level.I think The Boston Consulting Group On Strategy would have been a more compelling read if it had featured fewer original articles and added an updated perspective and thoughts on how the ideas are still relevant to today's world or reasons why they are not.It's not a book for someone who is new to strategy and wants to put together a strategic plan. Nor is it a book for someone who wants to be at the cutting edge of strategy. There is little here for typical readers of my blog who own and/or manage small to medium sized businesses. It is a book for practitioners who want to have more understanding of where strategy has come from.Paul Simister, a business coach who helps business owners who are stuck, get unstuck.This review first appeared on my blog, Differentiate Your Business.

Carl is just a great guy, definite a very smart cookie, excellent work from the boutique looking at how we can look at problem solving in variety of unconventional ways, overall great work and suggested read for someone who likes thinking and learning from best that is out there

I love it.

El Libro "On Strategy" es Excelente con Mi Kindle; ahora me gustaría contar con este mismo Libro pero en Español; su Nombre es: "Ideas Sobre Estrategia" del Mismo Autor.Gracias

I enjoyed the Book -

I'm a grad student with IT background and want to become a management consultant or a CEO.This is not a coffe-table book. The best is to have a business encyclopedia by the hand when reading it (i recommend Business: The ultimate resource,2nd).For more info about table of contents click on the book picture.The essays are short (cca 2 pages), but extremely consciously and well written. I think, no former business knowledge is necessary: anybody can pick up this book, who is interested in business, likes to think deeply and have persistence (you'll need it to get through the book).After reading the book, the reader will have an superb overview of business concepts, strategy, leadership -- i dare to say, that s/he will have all the knowledge a big CEO needs to have.

Thought provoking reading

The articles compiled are somewhat dated but the concept behind it is still very relevant in today's marketplace. It's somewhat strange that this book does not enjoy the popularity of other strategic texts such as porters competitive strategy. Many of the ideas are still used by companies today and are considered necessary practise. you are in consulting, strategy and transformation, this book is of value to understand historical reasons and predict current and future trends.