In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (© 2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 1 introduces the authors' approach by systematically laying out an elementary 3-circle model that illustrates gaps between the values customers seek, the values they receive from existing products, and the values a firm's new product must deliver. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the underlying framework that begins with the customer perspective. The authors introduce the basic concepts and several case examples illustrating the principles that underlie the development of effective growth strategy. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (© 2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 3 explains a frame for capturing in language the goal of a growth strategy. The goal combines the statement of a particular company unit (product, service, brand, product/service line, etc.), the customer segment, and the competitor: "My goal is to grow COMPANY UNIT by creating more value for CUSTOMER SEGMENT than COMPETITOR does." The authors illustrate their concept of context with numerous company and product examples. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 4 is an in-depth study of customers, exploring the value customers seek and the means by which existing competitors get credit for the value they create. Following a review of concepts and background ideas, the authors present six basic lessons regarding customer-value dynamics and competition. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 5 examines customer value in terms of response to the attributes of a product or product idea, then goes on to enumerate seven kinds of customer evaluation when confronting competing product concepts: better than competitor, same as competitor, worse than competitor, both below expectations, etc. The authors embed these ideas in the 3-circle model that dominates the book. At the end of chapter 5, the authors present a value map as a means of determining where a specific offering lies in a value space, defined by price on one axis and perceived benefits on the other. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (© 2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 6 examines the growth strategies that evolve from the seven categories of value explained in Chapter 5. Topics include Value and Positioning, Growth Implications for Value, and Exploring Five Growth Imperatives. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 7 examines issues of execution. The authors prod readers to consider their own organizations and products by asking "Do we have the skills and resources necessary to pursue these ideas" underlying the 3-circle model. A presentation on identifying and evaluating a firm's resources - financial, physical, human, technological, and reputational - leads to a discussion about applying those resources. Several case examples illuminate the chapter. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (© 2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 8 focuses on the dynamic aspects of markets. Market dynamics require a constant search for differentiation that can, paradoxically, lead to "sameness," as producers revise their products to neutralize the advantages of competing products. The authors explain how value moves through the 3-Circle model by demonstrating how markets and competitors change and how competitive advantage shifts over time. They also offer guidance on how to anticipate market changes. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 9, the final chapter, summarizes the book by presenting the 10-step process in which a growth strategy project is defined and executed. There are really three big elements underlying these 10 steps. The first involves the management team formally laying out the scope of the project and then their hypotheses about customer value. The second involves gathering data directly from target customers and analyzing it by breaking it down into the categories defined in the 3-circle model and deeper analysis via laddering. The third involves developing particular growth strategy ideas and testing them via (a) an assessment of alignment and capabilities required and (b) an evaluation of the competitive dynamics of the marketplace. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

Executives can delineate their corporate strategy with three simple circles: one for what customers value, one for how customers perceive the company's offerings, and one for how customers perceive competitors' offerings. The overlap (or lack thereof) will provide valuable insights.