Get to better, more effective strategy.

In nearly every business segment and corner of the world economy, the most successful companies dramatically outperform their rivals. What is their secret? In Better, Simpler Strategy, Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee shows how these companies achieve more by doing less. At a time when rapid technological change and global competition conspire to upend traditional ways of doing business, these companies pursue radically simplified strategies. At a time when many managers struggle not to drown in vast seas of projects and initiatives, these businesses follow simple rules that help them select the few ideas that truly make a difference.

Better, Simpler Strategy provides readers with a simple tool, the value stick, which every organization can use to make its strategy more effective and easier to execute. Based on proven financial mechanics, the value stick helps executives decide where to focus their attention and how to deepen the competitive advantage of their business.

How does the value stick work? It provides a way of measuring the two fundamental forces that lead to value creation and increased financial success—the customer's willingness-to-pay and the employee's willingness-to-sell their services to the business. Companies that win, Oberholzer-Gee shows, create value for customers by raising their willingness-to-pay, and they provide value for talent by lowering their willingness-to-sell. The approach, proven in practice, is entirely data driven and uniquely suited to be cascaded throughout the organization.

With many useful visuals and examples across industries and geographies, Better, Simpler Strategy explains how these two key measures enable firms to gauge and improve their strategies and operations. Based on the author's sought-after strategy course, this book is your must-have guide for making better strategic decisions.

Strategy Beyond Markets examines how the strategies employed by firms affect long run value. Scholars in this field focus their attention on firm interactions with entities other than the firm's primary market stakeholders. These stakeholders include international NGOs, environmental groups, local communities, regulators, politicians and the courts. This book is organized around three themes: Public politics, private politics, and integrated political strategy. In public politics, firms use sophisticated instruments (e.g., campaign funding, committee participation) to influence local, national, and international political environments. In private politics, firms work closely with NGOs and other special interest groups to preempt unfavorable policy, react swiftly to crises, and proactively develop socially responsible strategies. Additionally, firms that are heavily influenced by politics are more likely to craft integrated political strategy as part of a more comprehensive plan. This special issue comprises papers from preeminent scholars including David Baron, Jean-Philippe Bonardi, Daniel Diermeier, Thomas Lyon, John Maxwell, Ken Shotts, and Dennis Yao.