Product Description

What's the secret to a company's continued growth and prosperity? Internationally known marketing expert Al Ries has the answer: focus. His commonsense approach to business management is founded on the premise that long-lasting success depends on focusing on core products and eschewing the temptation to diversify into unrelated enterprises.

Using real-world examples, Ries shows that in industry after industry, it is the companies that resist diversification, and focus instead on owning a category in consumers' minds, that dominate their markets. He offers solid guidance on how to get focused and how to stay focused, laying out a workable blueprint for any company's evolution that will increase market share and shareholder value while ensuring future success.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #255309 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
While he doesn't go so far as to say that small is beautiful, Ries (Positioning) levels a commonsense critique at the compulsion for growth that drives corporate America. Growth for its own sake, particularly when it involves diversification into products unrelated to a company's original business, Ries says, causes many companies to become unfocused, confuses customers and loses money. The frenzy for acquisitions that spread many a well-known brand name over a diversity of products has proved untenable, with the result that companies that grew fat are regaining their original focus by slimming down. Sears, Roebuck, a once focused retailer that expanded unwisely into real estate, stock brokering, business system centers and credit cards, is having to divest itself of all but its original retail chain. Managers seeking to focus or refocus their companies will find helpful examples here, drawn from a broad range of enterprises. $50,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Ries, whose previous books were authored with Jack Trout, writes his latest with research assistance from his daughter. Together they go after the management of some of the world's most easily recognized firms, including PepsiCo and IBM. The authors use companies' experience as evidence that "focus" on the core businesses or products is the key to success in today's business environment, arguing that companies that remain focused, e.g., Volvo or McDonald's, have a substantially better track record than those that have strayed from their "core" businesses. This thesis, which is illustrated liberally with examples from the business world, is thoroughly developed. The reader may not always agree with the authors' statements, but they are well made and worth considering. For all management collections and for libraries that support all types of business, large or small.
Littleton M. Maxwell, Business Information Ctr., Univ. of Richmond, Va.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ries and consulting partner Jack Trout have done much to "market" marketing. They have popularized such concepts as positioning and bottom-up marketing in such books as Marketing Warfare (1986) and 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing (1993). Now writing solo for the first time, Ries targets practitioners with a message similar to--but more straightforward than and not nearly as ponderous as--that of Michael Porter in Competitive Advantage (1985). Providing illustrative examples from the marketplace, Ries argues that companies must "re-discover" what first made them successful and then concentrate on only those products and activities that lead to that success. Good advice! Even for libraries!! David Rouse

Customer Reviews

Timelesss classic on branding
Yes, 1996! Found this in a book-bin and realized that although I have read his successive books on marketing I never read the original book where he presented all his and Laura Reis' research. This is a trip back in time, but his predictions are uncanny! Lesson learned, he suggested IBM should move to "open source" long long ago. I defy you to read this and not have second thoughts about brand, message, and marketing today. Absolutely timeless book, despite the examples being all over 11 yrs old! Great for the bookshelf and a regular reference book. Pretty cheap these days!

Focused, but undisiplined
I believe this book makes a valid point for the pularity of companies today. There are just enough tidbits to make the read worthwhile. However, I found the book frustrating. The author suffers from disclipine. He makes poor use of analogies and the book, while chock full of examples, could many times be examples of the contra opionion: diversification. The author would benifit from application of scientific rigor that would add depth and credibility to his copious but superficial use of examples. Perhaps exploring a corporate strategy of diversification would of given him the credibility I needed to swallow all his claims. Without it he comes off as someone who makes up his mind what position he wants and then grasps anything possible to support his ideal. For those interested in the subject I relay the maxim, "Concentrate when in control otherwise diversify."

A very good book
I have not finished this book yet, but I believe I am already benefited from the book. I won't be as puzzled and frustrated as I was, facing distractions and many seemingly attractive oppotunities in life and work. It lets me to realize the harmful effects of unfocused efforts. This is enough for me to rate this book 5 stars.

However, I also believe focus in real life is not a static thing. You have to focus in a way that does not lose the sight of what is happening around you. In other words, you have to re-evaluate your focusing path from time to time.

By the way, I got this book from a library book sale. It was an unfocused effort -- I was just out there trying to find something interesting.