Competitors: Outwitting, Outmaneuvering, and Outperforming

Rating:
Summary: Great strategic value!
Review: As an avid disciple of strategy and leadership, I find this book a valuable companion to Porter and Sun Tzu. Unlike many CI books which dwells heavily on the "tricks of the trade" and "checklists", Liam Fahey's work provides the reader a set of conceptual frameworks for appraoching the whole CI process. This leads to a better understanding of the competitive environment, its dynamics and opportunities to win. Mr Fahey's thoughts would make a great MBA course. But until then, this book gives the reader a first-mover advantage over those who are still in the dark ages of strategy and competitiveness.

Rating:
Summary: A disapointing book - Decepcionante.
Review: I must confess that this has been one of the borest books I have ever read. Padded out with plenty of trivial ideas and lacking with something new. On the good side, it's an overview over most of the topics in competitor analysis but really heavy going to go through.

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive
Review: This is by far the best book of its kind in that it provides a wealth of material on aspects of competitors and competition. Fahey's analytical methods are unique, and based on years and years of teaching and consulting. This one is both meatier and has better flow than some of his edited books or the Portable MBA edited volumes he has co-written. In reality, if this book is any indication, I'd like to see Fahey sole author more books.

The first four chapters constitute a framework for competitor learning. These chapters will be more appealing to academics than practitioners, alhtough practitioners will benefit from understanding the theory underlying his approach. Part 2 provides chapters on analyzing specific aspects of competition, and will be of greater benefit to practitioners.

Although I very much like the content of this book, it is not an "easy read" and must be digested slowly and carefully. Nevertheless, it is worth the effort. The only thing I would have liked more would be a practitioner-oriented, "how-to" approach to using some of the models and tools that Fahey illustrates in the last 11 chapters. Also, as in most any book of this type that has space and size limitations, the focus of the analysis will be on areas the author sees as important, while some other areas (such as customers, financials, accounting) will be necessarily excluded. Fahey's choices will certainly appeal more to the top decision-makers of organizations, and many of the CEOs I work with would benefit from exposure to this volume.

There is an assumption that the reader will have a substantial business schooling or experience background. If you do, you will appreciate this all the more. If you don't, I'd suggest you get one of Fahey's or other authors' Portable MBA series volumes first.