World Famous Tool A - Strategic Focus

World Famous Tool A - Strategic Focus

The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1997.

"The message of The Discipline of Market Leaders is that no company can succeed today by trying to be all things to all people. It must instead find the unique value that it alone can deliver to a chosen market. Why and how this is done are the two key questions the book addresses." (p.xii)

'Value Discipline'

Basic Philosophy

Examples

1) operational excellence

-customer proposition is simple: low or lowest price and hassle-free service

efficient management of people

management of efficient transactions

dedication to measurement systems

management of customer expectations

McDonalds

2) product leadership

-offer products that push performance boundaries

encouragement of innovation

risk-oriented management style

talented product design people

educate and lead the market

-Nike, 3M

3) customer intimacy

-delivering what specific customers want

full range of services available

corporate philosophy


Nordstrom

'operational excellence', is an approach to the market dedicated to providing the lowest cost goods and services, while at the same time minimizing problems for the customer.

'product leadership', is dedicated to providing the best possible products from the perspective of the features and benefits offered to the customer. Product leadership is based upon the following principles:

'customer intimacy', involves the selection of one or a few high-value customer niches, followed by an obsessive effort at getting to know these customers in detail. The operating principles of this value discipline include: