If You're in a Dogfight, Become a Cat!: Strategies for Long-Term Growth (Columbia Business School Publishing)

It is clear the author has been a practicing strategist and comes from the trenches. ( see Audi example) He is logical, clear and uses simple language to capture the essence of business strategy. The three pillars of continuous innovation, meaningful differentiation and business alignment was very helpful for me. The bibliography is so well done. I rarely give five stars for business books. This one is worth my shelf. I will also share this book to my group. Remember, the best strategy depends on the context. If you are in a dogfight, become a cat. If everyone else becomes a cat, become an eagle. This book is a cat among the dogfight in strategy books!

I purchased the book because of its Columbia Business School credibility and it did not disappoint. I loved that the author held no punches on his opinions. Sherman discusses many strategies from publications and other popular strategy books written. He also inputs his own. Reading this book exposed me to other authors I never heard of and because Sherman gives his opinions I don't have to purchase books that I would have purchased in the future. I loved that he Cited his work perfectly and in the Kindle version you can navigate to other authors he speaks of. MUST READ BOOK!

This book seamlessly integrates key elements of today’s strategic thinking to guide newly-minted MBA graduates and seasoned executives alike. Since there’s no guarantee that today’s “good” industries will outperform the market across decades, Sherman asserts that sound strategy and effective execution are more relevant than industry structure to achieving long-term profitable growth, which he demonstrates can be attained in any industry if executives focus on continuous innovation to provide consumers with meaningfully differentiated products and services.

Well-written and topical, the book puts popular business theories to the test against real world examples of successes and failures in demonstrating that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to creating and growing a lasting company. Highly recommended for young entrepreneurs and established CEOs alike.

Great value for a business book.

This book is not just for those who have or want an MBA. I am neither business savvy nor particularly interested in the field. And yet . . . I found this book fascinating. It explains, in language a layman can understand, why some businesses fail and others succeed. The explanations are accompanied by compelling anecdotes about companies we all know. And the graphs -- beautifully done in color -- are fully and simply explained by the author in the same easy-to-follow style as the rest of the book. I came away feeling I had learned a tremendous amount without any sense of having done "homework." That is quite a feat. As an unexpected aside, the book is printed on quality paper. For those who love holding a hard copy, there is a noticeable difference from most books. It actually feels luxurious to read.

It was a decent review of overall strategy models; however, many of the examples like JetBlue are well known. In addition, there was quite a bit of repetition in the examples.

This was a resource used as part of my MBA studies. I found it very helpful providing an excellent overview of many key topics, including innovation, marketing, and customer service.

An instant classic on effectively approaching an organizations go-to-market strategy. Starting off with a great synopsis of strategic thought from the past half-century, classics and trends alike, reviewing the benefits and limitations of each, before going on to effectively employ a number of quite interesting case studies to illustrate the driving principal of the book — the strategic method and approach to create sustainable, long-term organizational growth.

Takes on a lot of other authors material and tries to come up with a unifying method.Very interesting for the noobs and a nice take on all the methodologies for all the business strategists out there