Men among the Mammoths

What I like about Mr Jackson's SMP analysis is that it promises to liberate managers from the inherited and still often unchallenged idea that bigger is always better as far as market share is concerned. This thinking goes back at least four decades - when ICI ruled the world and when Bruce Henderson's Boston Consulting Group introduced its experience curve to a world of grateful clients. (Financial Times, Tuesday, December 12, 2006) When a business does not perform as well as hoped, how do you decide whether it's an operational problem or a more fundamental problem with how your company is positioned against competitors? When you are required to look for new sources of growth each year, how do know which opportunities truly build on your existing competitive strengths versus taking you into new business areas where your existing capabilities no longer apply? Mr. Jackson offers a new approach, strategic market positioning, to answering these tough strategic questions.(Journal of Business Strategy, January issue) Jackson shows how you can draw on SMP [Strategic Market Position] to create clarity around essential business decisions with confidence... His writing style is readable, yet weighty and gives valuable insights into improving strategy and creating frameworks for growth. If you want to understand what really drives corporate value you could do worse than read this. (European CEO, Wednesday, January 31, 2007)