The Ultimate  Competitive Advantage

By Donald Mitchell  and Carol Coles

Of all the books I've read on change management this is the most precise in its  statement about how corporations need to manage the continuous innovation of  their business model in order to survive and thrive in our global, competitive  marketplace. Replete with real world examples of successful business model  innovation, traps, and pitfalls, this clearly written book provides definitions,  case studies, and "rules to live by."

Continually provide more benefits for your customers; ". . . business model  obsolescence is the major unperceived opportunity for and threat to all  businesses now" is the self-proclaimed "Big Idea" of this book. Indeed it is.  From that theme, Mitchell and Coles go on to build an air-tight case for  continuous business model improvement. And the business model is simply defined  as the: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, and How Much for your product or  service. But the simplicity of this concept of a business model should not  mislead the reader. There is a significant amount of introspection and work that  a leadership team must go through to really understand the answers to these  questions in order to map where they are today and what they might do to  positively change the model.

Mitchell and Coles keep our  interest through real live case studies as well as tracking the growth of a  child's Lemonade Stand business. The book is divided into four major parts: 1  The Most Productive Areas for Business Model Innovation; 2. Provide Sustained  Benefits for All Stakeholders; 3. Expand Business Model Innovation; and 4.  Pursue Higher-Potential Business Model Improvement. Each of these sections use  real life case studies and hypothetical Lemonade Stands to illustrate the  business change management principles. Those examples also provide hope and  encouragement to leadership teams in all kinds of businesses that they are not  alone in keeping change management from becoming an oxymoron!

After reading this book, you  will want to keep it handy for reference, ideas for new paths to explore, and to  loan to others who seem simply not to "get it!" What I appreciated most was the  honest focus on providing what customers and end users really want in a product  or service. Starting there, we can drive our companies to greater achievements  by continuous business model innovation. Rarely do I rate a book a five on a  scale of five, but Mitchell and Coles get that rating for The Ultimate  Competitive Advantage! Learn and participate at:Mitchell and Company

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