Executives are like joggers. If you stop a jogger, he goes on running on the spot. If you drag an executive away from his business, he goes on running on the spot, pawing the ground, talking business. He never stops hurtling onwards, making decisions and executing them.
If the above statement is true about executives then it’s true about businesses as well. If you can find out a new area when another is blocked you can emerge as a business leader.
“Competing for the Future” is written by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad. It deals with the emergence of business leaders who compete for shaping their future. It also deals with the strategy which builds the gateway for the future. In this book Hamel and Prahalad says, “To get to the future first, a company must find the shortest path between today and tomorrow. Dreams don’t come true overnight, and many years may elapse between the conception of a radically transformed industry and the emergence of a real and substantial market. The goal is to minimize both the time and investment required to turn foresight into genuine market opportunity.”
During their research on business strategy for future they came across some questions which troubled them a lot. This book has tried to cover those questions also. Some of them are below.
Can you write a business case for a market segment which might not emerge for a decade or more?
Can a smaller rival prevail against much larger, richer companies?
Do you thing that the biggies are more interested in protesting the past than creating the future?
Most of the companies focus on cost cutting, down sizing, re-structuring and re-engineering to maximize their profit. Hamel and Parahal didn’t suggest any such approach instead they believe in industry transformation. They talk about a futuristic approach that can not only expand business or increase profit but also identify new business areas. This book is based upon their experience and research as business and strategic consultant for many MNCs.
They say, “Competing for the future is not for dilettantes; it is not for the merely intellectually curious. It is a handbook for those who are not content to follow, for those who believe that the best way to win is to rewrite the rules, for those who are unafraid to challenge orthodoxy, for those who are inclined to build than cut, for those more concerned with making a difference than making a career, and for those who are absolutely committed to staking out the future list.”
Amazon.com says, “Winning in business today is not about being number one–it’s about who “gets to the future first,” write management consultants Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad. In Competing for the Future, they urge companies to create their own futures, envision new markets, and reinvent themselves.”
My Views: Formerly when great fortunes were only made in war, war was business; but now when great fortunes are only made by business: Business is war. If you want to win this war, you will have to make new innovative approaches and new strategies instead of just relying on your physical strength.
Recommendation: I found this book one of the gems in the ocean of corporate world. If gives you inner views about industry and it also compels you to think ahead of time. If you want to make a difference with your business or if you are looking to emerge as a new corporate tycoon then you must read this book.
Who should read this book?
- Corporate Leaders
- Entrepreneurs
- Corporate Gurus
- Management Students
- Corporate Aspirants
Always remember, if you can’t imagine the future, you won’t be there to enjoy it.
