Playing to Win, How Strategy Really Works by A G Lafley and Roger Martin
Harvard Business Publishing
You talk of mass market FMCG products in India, probably Unilever (formerly Hindustan Lever Limited) will come in your mind. But when you add quality to this mass market segment, no one can beat an organization like P&G particularly in markets such as US and China. The addition of Gillette have made the brand portfolio of P&G even stronger.
Strategy per se is one of the often most misused concept in business context. Every action plan as trivial as market visit can be put into words such as Lets have strategy for tomorrow’s market visit… However, while everyone talks of the B-word, there are few organization capable of cultivating a strategic thinking and building culture. While traditional strategy implementation starts at top and get diffused at bottom, the story of P&G and its winning framework have been captured in a very lucid manner.
The simple framework of defining winning aspirations, where to play, How to win, Building core capabilities and management systems is defined with a strategic logic flow which is crucial in the current context where the challenge lies in putting different pieces together. The framework is explained in detail in context of P&G brands. Though the framework talks of basics such as understanding the customer and channels, building core capabilities – differentiation or cost leadership, managing systems, brand building and category development, in practical business scenario it is a humongous task and require discipline, skills, knowledge and investment.
From a respected legendary business leader A G Lafley along with the expertise of Roger Martin, the book reflects the thoughts of Peter Drucker as pivotal and makes it a must read for every student of strategy.
Best regards
Sunil Singh Rana
Sunil Singh Rana
