Financial Times Essential Guide to Developing a Business Strategy, The

'Vaughan Evans not only demystifies strategy, he provides a useful and enjoyable step-by-step guide to constructing effective business strategies.'
Jeff van der Eems, Chief Operating Officer, United Biscuits

'A wonderfully practical and highly readable guide to strategy development.'
Marcus Alexander, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship,
London Business School

'This is an uncomplicated DIY strategy manual for the SME manager. It works perfectly.'
David Williamson, Managing Director, Nova Capital Management

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO BUSINESS STRATEGY

Whether you're an entrepreneur or a manager, The Financial Times Essential Guide to Developing a Business Strategy gives you the tools you need to build a powerful strategy and take your business to the next level.

By using its simple framework, you can achieve success without having to rely on external advisors or consultants. The innovative nine-step strategy process will help you turn your business goals into reality, whilst the lively anecdotes provide illuminating examples of strategy in action.

Follow this guidance to create a roadmap for enduring business success. This book complements and is a companion to the best-selling FT Essential Guide to Writing a Business Plan.

FINANCIAL TIMES ESSENTIAL GUIDES THE KNOW-HOW YOU NEED TO GET THE RESULTS YOU WANT

"This is the most succinct and most practical handbook on business strategy on the market."
Jules Goddard, Fellow, London Business School and co-author of Uncommon Sense, Common Nonsense.

List of contents

Introduction
Why strategy?
What is strategy?
What is the output?
What is the outcome?
What is a strategic plan?
What is strategic planning?
The Strategy Pyramid
Business vs corporate strategy
 
 
Part One: Strategy Development
 
1. Knowing Your Business  
Identifying key segments
   Essential example: Apple’s saviour segments
Segmentation in a start-up
   Essential case study: Extramural Ltd - the business
 
2. Setting Goals and Objectives
Setting long-term goals
Essential example: Life at Mars
Setting SMART objectives
   Essential case study: Extramural Ltd – goals and objectives
 
3. Forecasting Market Demand  
Sizing the market
Forecasting market demand
   Essential tool: Moving averages
   Essential example: No wrap for the cinema
Forecasting demand for a start-up
Market demand risks and opportunities
   Essential case study: Extramural Ltd – market demand
 
4. Gauging Industry Competition  
Assessing competitive intensity
Assigning customer purchasing criteria
Deriving key success factors
Essential tool: Economies of scale
Essential example: Jessops is shuttered
Gauging competition in a start-up
Industry competition risks and opportunities
   Essential case study: Extramural Ltd – industry competition
 
5. Tracking Competitive Advantage
Rating competitive position
   Essential tool: Product/market risk
Reviewing resources and capabilities
   Essential tool: The value chain
Essential example: The everlasting Monsoon
Creating competitive advantage in a start-up
   Essential example: Of diet, dance and detectives
Essential case study: Extramural Ltd – competitive advantage
 
6. Targeting the Strategic Gap
Targeting the portfolio gap
Targeting the capability gap
Profiling the ideal player
Specifying the target gap
Essential example: Could Liverpool FC be champions again?
Targeting the gap in a start-up
   Essential case study: Extramural Ltd – strategic gap
 
7. Bridging the Gap: Business Strategy  
Opting for a generic strategy
Essential tool: The experience curve
Strategic repositioning and shaping profit growth options
Essential tool: Uncontested market space
Making the strategic investment decision
   Essential example: Sainsbury’s fights back
Bridging the gap for a start-up
Business strategic risks and opportunities
   Essential case study: Extramural Ltd – business strategy
 
8. Bridging the Gap: Corporate Strategy
Optimising the corporate portfolio
Essential tool: The growth/share matrix
Creating value from mergers, acquisitions and alliances
Essential tool: Parenting value
Building strategically valuable resources
Essential tool: Core competences
Essential example: UU U-turn
Corporate strategic risks and opportunities
   Essential case study: Extramural Ltd – corporate strategy
 
9. Addressing Risk and Opportunity
Reviewing plan in a market context
Appraising opportunity versus risk
Essential tool: Expected value and sensitivity analysis
Essential example: Britney does it again
   Essential case study: Extramural Ltd – risk and opportunity
 
Part Two: Strategic Planning
 

About the author

Vaughan Evans is an independent strategy consultant (www.managingstrategicrisk.com) with a background in industry economics. He worked at management and technology consultants Arthur D. Little and at investment bank Bankers Trust. Vaughan graduated from Cambridge and has a Sloan Fellowship with distinction from London Business School. He is the author of four previous books, including the best-selling  Financial Times Essential Guide to Writing a Business Plan.

Summary

Want to take your company to the next level?  You need a roadmap, a strategy.  Preferably one that is simple, workable and saleable.  This book provides you with just that.  It sets out a straightforward strategy development process, the ‘Strategy Pyramid’, and guides you through it.  It uses a lively central case study throughout, as well as drawing on examples of how real businesses have developed winning strategies.  Whether you are intent on growing your business, or setting out on your start-up, this book offers an uncomplicated, practical and readable guide on how to get the strategy you need for your business to succeed.
 
It offers sound advice on the following areas:

• Setting goals and objectives
• Forecasting market demands
• Gauging industry competition
• Tracking competitive advantage
• Targeting the strategic gap
• Bridging the gap with business strategy
• Bridging the gap with corporate strategy
• Addressing risk and opportunity

The FT Essential Guide to Developing a Business Strategy will help businesses of all sizes to chart and realise their growth ambitions.

Product details

• Authors: Vaughan Evans
• Publisher: Pearson Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 17.10.2013
• EAN: 9781292002613
• ISBN: 978-1-292-00261-3
• No. of pages: 264
• Dimensions: 138 mm x 217 mm x 16 mm
• Weight: 300 g
• Series: The FT Guides; The FT Guides
• Subject: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Management