The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think
What makes a great company great? How much of corporate success is due to random good luck or to good planning and execution that can be passed along to help other companies? Raynor and Ahmed analyzed performance data on more than 25,000 companies from 1966 to 2010 to uncover the essential elements of high corporate achievement. After settling on 344 exceptional companies, they explored those factors that set the exceptional apart from all others in industries as varied as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and confectionary. Looking beyond regulation, competition, and myriad other factors, they boiled down success to three rules: better before cheaper, revenue before cost, and don’t get distracted by anything other than the first two rules. Among the exceptional performers are Merck in pharmaceuticals, Abercrombie & Fitch in retail, and Maytag in appliances, each described in excruciating detail to explain how it outperforms competitors. But beyond the tables, charts, and statistics lies a book written in very accessible language and with a simplicity of focus on the basics that can apply to any sector and any business. --Vanessa Bush