If You're in a Dogfight, Become a Cat!

Businesses often find themselves trapped in a competitive dogfight, scratching and clawing for market share with products consumers view as largely undifferentiated. Conventional wisdom suggests that dogfights are to be expected as marketplaces mature, giving rise to the notion that there are "bad" industries where it is unlikely that any company can succeed.

But there are notable exceptions where enlightened executives have changed the rules of the game to survive and thrive...
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Businesses often find themselves trapped in a competitive dogfight, scratching and clawing for market share with products consumers view as largely undifferentiated. Conventional wisdom suggests that dogfights are to be expected as marketplaces mature, giving rise to the notion that there are "bad" industries where it is unlikely that any company can succeed.

But there are notable exceptions where enlightened executives have changed the rules of the game to survive and thrive in embattled industries. Rather than join the dogfight, companies like Apple, FedEx, and Starbucks have chosen to become metaphorical cats, continuously renewing their distinctive strategies to compete on their own terms.

In If You're in a Dogfight, Become a Cat longtime business consultant and Columbia Business School faculty member Leonard Sherman explores two of the most vexing questions facing business executives: why is it so hard to achieve long-term profitable growth? And how can companies break away from the pack?

Filled with dozens of illustrative examples of inspiring successes and dispiriting falls from grace, this book provides deep insights and practical guidance on how to become the cat in a dogfight, and achieve the holy grail of business: long-term profitable growth.