Profit Patterns: 30 Ways to Capture Profit for Your Business Book

Profit Patterns opens with a series of chaotic paintings by Pablo Picasso. Each piece is increasingly difficult to recognise; the final portrait is little more than a jumble of shapes and colours. But what does Picasso have to do with profitability? By recognising industry patterns--by seeing the order beneath the surface chaos--managers, investors, and entrepreneurs can prepare for change before it even occurs. And while the Picasso-as-business-strategy metaphor may be a stretch, Slywotzky's theories are fundamentally sound, designed to spot and capitalise upon market trends in an ever- turbulent business world.Adrian Slywotzky--whose bestselling The Profit Zone explained how profits happen--this time focuses on making sure profits happen. He begins by defining the types of changes common to modern businesses, explaining why polarisation is spreading among industries, and emphasising the importance of mindshare. He then lists the 30 most common patterns that businesses fall into, such as microsegmentation, where "growing customer heterogeneity and increasing customer sophistication change the fundamental nature of the market." But even if a business is adept at seeing patterns, it's helpless if it can't mobilise its troops in time to capitalise upon pending change. Case studies of successful companies such as Cisco Systems, Nokia and Dell Computer show how a company can detect industry trends, organise its workforce, and build giant leads over its competition. No wonder Picasso was a good businessman. --Rob McDonald, Amazon.comRead More