Rethinking Competitive Advantage

New Rules for the Digital Age

By: Ram Charan

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

How do you gain an edge in the digital world order?

“Another book for the ages from a master.... Particularly insightful is his emphasis on how the end-to-end individual consumer experience will separate winners from losers in our new digital age.” (Fred Hassan, chairman, Caret Group; former CEO, Schering-Plough and Pharmacia)

The old ways of creating competitive advantage for your business - such as building moats to ward off competitors - have become dangerous. Giants like Amazon and Alibaba are creating vast new market spaces through a deft combination of tools like machine learning and business savvy that reimagines customer experiences while generating immense shareholder value.

A handful of traditional companies, including Fidelity Investments, Walmart, and B2W, have adopted these new approaches to reinvigorate their businesses. Most, however, are stalled - and the clock is running out. In this lively, accessible guide, Ram Charan, best-selling author and adviser to some of the world’s top CEOs and boards, redefines competitive advantage for the digital-first era, offering a set of new rules to get ahead:

• Create an ecosystem with third-party partners to revolutionize and personalize the customer experience.
• Empower teams focused on a single task, building a “social engine” that drives constant innovation, fast execution, and customer satisfaction.
• Attract funders who understand the big picture: that beyond a certain scale, major upfront spending will turn into a cash-generation machine.

Filled with stories that peek behind the curtain of digital behemoths as well as traditional companies that have transformed their organizations, Rethinking Competitive Advantage offers concrete advice and methods to help you conceive of new market spaces and moneymaking models.

Competing against digital giants might seem daunting, if not impossible. The necessary computing power is within any company’s reach. By borrowing from these digital winners’ playbooks, traditional companies and upstarts alike can gain an upper hand. Whether you’re in the C-suite or brainstorming the next big idea from your garage, Rethinking Competitive Advantage is the ultimate guide to creating competitive advantage today.

©2020 Ram Charan (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Rethinking Competitive Advantage is the book to redefine advantage for the digital generation. Charan lays out the new golden rules for an increasingly competitive world. His unfettered access to leaders of successful companies gives him insights that you won’t find anywhere else.” (Douglas L. Peterson, president and CEO, S&P Global)

“Winning the technological revolution isn’t about technology, as Rethinking Competitive Advantage demonstrates. Charan, grand master of strategy, has written the indispensable book on the radically new rules of the digital age.” (Geoff Colvin, best-selling author of Talent Is Overrated and senior editor at large, Fortune)

“The companies we have invested in have mostly pursued a culture of attracting exceptional people, producing efficiently, and lowering cost. Market forces have obliged us to become more adaptable, consumer focused, and innovation oriented. Charan’s book Rethinking Competitive Advantage fits like a glove in helping us adjust to this new world, so much so that we are distributing it to all our top executives.” (Jorge Paulo Lemann, co-founder, 3G Capital)

Solid Read

The author is trying to stay ahead of the change curve. His review and advice of business at the speed of light shows the critical need for all who need not only survival skills against giant data-driven competitors but also winning models for a smart competitive edge. It is just so difficult to stay in front of the velocity re the subject matter that I imagine another book forthcoming.

Makes some good points.

Like the book. Makes excellent points about ecosystems. Some example companies used I had never heard of.

A nice read for transforming any leader & business

Powerful ideas about a personalized customer experience based around building a digital future with great leadership