7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-11 08:54:08
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Hamilton Wright Helmer
- ISBN：0998116319
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Summary
What are the secrets to making a company enduringly valuable？
7 Powers breaks fresh ground by constructing a comprehensive strategy toolset that is easy for you to learn， communicate and quickly apply。
Drawing on his decades of experience as a business strategy advisor， active equity investor and Stanford University teacher， Hamilton Helmer develops from first principles a practical theory of Strategy rooted in the notion of Power， those conditions which create the potential for persistent differential returns。
Using rich real-world examples， Helmer rigorously characterizes exactly what your business must achieve to create Power。 And create Power it must， for without it your business is at risk。 He explains why invention always comes first and then develops the Power Progression to enable you to target when your Power must be established: in the Origination， Take-Off or Stability phases of your business。
Every business faces a do-or-die strategy moment: a crux directional choice made amidst swirling uncertainty。 To get this right you need at your fingertips a real-time strategy compass to discern your true north。 7 Powers is that compass。
7 Powers breaks fresh ground by constructing a comprehensive strategy toolset that is easy for you to learn， communicate and quickly apply。
Drawing on his decades of experience as a business strategy advisor， active equity investor and Stanford University teacher， Hamilton Helmer develops from first principles a practical theory of Strategy rooted in the notion of Power， those conditions which create the potential for persistent differential returns。
Using rich real-world examples， Helmer rigorously characterizes exactly what your business must achieve to create Power。 And create Power it must， for without it your business is at risk。 He explains why invention always comes first and then develops the Power Progression to enable you to target when your Power must be established: in the Origination， Take-Off or Stability phases of your business。
Every business faces a do-or-die strategy moment: a crux directional choice made amidst swirling uncertainty。 To get this right you need at your fingertips a real-time strategy compass to discern your true north。 7 Powers is that compass。
Reviews
Alexej Gerstmaier
，
Thiel recommends this， was *really* good， even practically useful as a simple compass。 Seven Powers areScale EconomiesNetwork Effects Counter PositioningSwitching CostsBrandingCornered ResourceProcess PowerOut of these， I found CP and PP to be most interesting/surprising。 The points regarding the Toyota Production System were super interesting as I already read a bunch of books about that topic:"TPS is not what it seems。 On the surface， it consists of a fairly straightforward variety of interloc Thiel recommends this， was *really* good， even practically useful as a simple compass。 Seven Powers areScale EconomiesNetwork Effects Counter PositioningSwitching CostsBrandingCornered ResourceProcess PowerOut of these， I found CP and PP to be most interesting/surprising。 The points regarding the Toyota Production System were super interesting as I already read a bunch of books about that topic:"TPS is not what it seems。 On the surface， it consists of a fairly straightforward variety of interlocking procedures， such as jit production， kaizen， kanban， andon cords。 It turns out these techniques merely manifest some deeper， more complex system。" "The issue is how do you support that system with all the other functions that have to take place in the org？" The part about Dynamics and power progression about at what point in the business development there are windows of opportunity for developing a power seems useful as well。 。。。more
Brad Bevers
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Not what I thought it would be， but a good read for both entrepreneurs and investors。 The author does a great job of making a systematic argument for strategy。 The charts and and tables that he produces with his theory are easily worth the cost of the book。 Despite its short length， this will be more of a reference book for me going forward， especially as a help when evaluating investments at an early stage。
Nick Kurns
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This was a great read。 Highly thought-provoking framework that is promised to be "simple but not simplistic" which I found to be true。 While the theories are straight-forward some of the example applications are complex。 Applies most directly to high-tech and value investing。 I found a lot of valuable insights and plan to re-read。 This was a great read。 Highly thought-provoking framework that is promised to be "simple but not simplistic" which I found to be true。 While the theories are straight-forward some of the example applications are complex。 Applies most directly to high-tech and value investing。 I found a lot of valuable insights and plan to re-read。 。。。more
Renato Franco
，
Este livro é um excelente guia para entender estratégia competitiva por novas perspectivas， mais poderosas （ao meu ver） do que o clássico de Michael Porter。Alguns dos 7 Powers são semelhantes a outros livros （ex: Competition Demystified）。 Mesmo assim， Helmer oferece uma visão bem autêntica e com exemplos atualizados。 Também há novidades entre os 7 Powers， como Counter Positioning: é um tipo especial de situação， que guarda algumas semelhanças com o Innovator’s Dilemma。Algumas aplicações oferecem Este livro é um excelente guia para entender estratégia competitiva por novas perspectivas， mais poderosas （ao meu ver） do que o clássico de Michael Porter。Alguns dos 7 Powers são semelhantes a outros livros （ex: Competition Demystified）。 Mesmo assim， Helmer oferece uma visão bem autêntica e com exemplos atualizados。 Também há novidades entre os 7 Powers， como Counter Positioning: é um tipo especial de situação， que guarda algumas semelhanças com o Innovator’s Dilemma。Algumas aplicações oferecem muitos insights: se destaca o estudo de caso do Netflix， em que Helmer investiu e entendeu （talvez melhor que qualquer um） a inevitável evolução de uma empresa vencedora em aluguel de DVDs para a líder em streaming que é hoje。 De forma contra-intuitiva， nem todos os caminhos do Netflix levariam a empresa ao patamar onde está hoje。 Não é à toa que Reed Hastings chamou Helmer para ensinar seu framework aos seus funcionários。 Os estudos de caso da Toyota e da Intel também são muito ricos， com várias reflexões úteis。Tão relevante quanto os conceitos de estratégia em si， que são estáticos， Helmer explora os 7 Powers de forma dinâmica: como uma empresa pode aproveitar oportunidade de “cristalizar” sua vantagem competitiva。 Recomendo muito！ 。。。more
Santiago Estellano
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Simple but not simplistic: one of the best strategy reads I've ever done Simple but not simplistic: one of the best strategy reads I've ever done 。。。more
Abi Tyas Tunggal
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7 Powers is my favorite book on strategy。Hamilton Helmer provides real world examples grounded in decades of experience as a strategy advisor， active equity investor， and Stanford University professor that help us build a set of mental models to think through strategy。The crux of 7 Powers is a business can try to improve its strengths， mitigate its weaknesses， eliminate competitor risk， better serve its customers， maximize shareholder value， or take advantage of its pricing power。But there are v 7 Powers is my favorite book on strategy。Hamilton Helmer provides real world examples grounded in decades of experience as a strategy advisor， active equity investor， and Stanford University professor that help us build a set of mental models to think through strategy。The crux of 7 Powers is a business can try to improve its strengths， mitigate its weaknesses， eliminate competitor risk， better serve its customers， maximize shareholder value， or take advantage of its pricing power。But there are very few times when a business can do all at once。What Hamilton Helmer provides us， through 7 Powers， is a comprehensive strategic framework that can help every business choose what to focus on next。If you’re looking for a teaser of the book， I spent some time writing up notes。 You can find them here: https://theinterleavingeffect。com/p/7。。。 or as a podcast here: https://open。spotify。com/episode/1kWw。。。 。。。more
Lucas Watson
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The book gives an impressive and informative step by step walk through on how a business gains power and retains it。 I understand Helmer’s goal in writing this was to denote the process of power in a “simple but not simplistic” way， however his language gets a little complicated in the appendixes of each chapter breaking down the mathematical expressions on how each power is formalized for the average reader thus the 4/5 star。
Yun Teng
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“Simple but not simplistic”。 Framework for thinking about what makes a business last and how to get there。 Was a relatively quick read with helpful charts but paused at parts to digest and apply learnings。 Really liked the framework overall， was a new angle of evaluating businesses that I hadn’t seen before - some questions around generalizability of framework and clear distinction between the 7 powers， but overall still helpful
Israel
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Strategy can be complex and hard to boil down to practical terms。 7 Powers provides a framework that is easy to understand， apply and evaluate。 It is especially useful for start-ups or relatively young companies。 The short and concise chapters， coupled with tables & graphs make it a quick and memorable read。
Wade Sarver
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Great guidelines Although difficult for me to follow at times and the formulas were a bit much， this book has some brilliant ideas。 It proves to be a good guide to building a business and developing a strategy to grow。Great research inside。
Edward Xiao
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A great and succinct book on business strategy that provides a simple but thorough framework。 Specifically it helps one understand the paths businesses take to developing the enduring advantages that are so sought after by every business。 Can't recommend the book enough， great read。 A great and succinct book on business strategy that provides a simple but thorough framework。 Specifically it helps one understand the paths businesses take to developing the enduring advantages that are so sought after by every business。 Can't recommend the book enough， great read。 。。。more
Jagannath Putrevu
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Tough book to read and fully make sense but got exposed some great concepts
Akarsh Dhaiya
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If you are new to investing or strategy， then this can be helpful， but if you are an investor and have spent a good time reading/ learning strategy， this book is up for disappointment
Yechan
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At the end of the day， this book is basically Michael Porter x Bruce Greenwald with fancier language and more up-to-date case studies。 Helmer does provide a better framework than these two professors did。 However， attempting to create a simple framework， he often over-generalizes and uses quasi-mathematical formulas that seem contrived。 Nonetheless， it is a book worth skimming through for those new to the concepts。
Sailendra Kumar
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If you want to read 1 book 📖 n strategy this should be the one。 Concise ， scientific and structured
Abhi Yerra
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7 powers needed a good editor to go through and clean up the verbiage and self-aggrandizing but underneath it all there is truth。 If the outcome of strategy is to gain advantage the outcome of strategy is to reach power while ensuring there is a barrier that prevents competition from breaking through。 The way to achieve this power is through the following:Scale economicsNetwork effectsCounterpositioning / disruptive innovationSwitching costBrandingCornered ResourceProcessThe last part of the boo 7 powers needed a good editor to go through and clean up the verbiage and self-aggrandizing but underneath it all there is truth。 If the outcome of strategy is to gain advantage the outcome of strategy is to reach power while ensuring there is a barrier that prevents competition from breaking through。 The way to achieve this power is through the following:Scale economicsNetwork effectsCounterpositioning / disruptive innovationSwitching costBrandingCornered ResourceProcessThe last part of the book was a bit more muddied for me but there is a what and when to executing and ensuring you have power over these 7 things based on the time frame and needs of the company。 Overall a good framework to consider strategy but honestly could have been a short essay instead of a book。 。。。more
Matthew
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4。5/5 stars。Excellent book on business strategy， particularly since it covered the topic through a novel lens。 Helmer described each ‘power’ first with a case study of a company， then by describing the intricacies of it， and finally with a proof how each power drives continued excess profitability it in the chapter appendix。 The mix of anecdotes and a mathematical derivation of how wielding each power gives a company the ability for excess profits （i。e。 "alpha"） made this book the whole package。 4。5/5 stars。Excellent book on business strategy， particularly since it covered the topic through a novel lens。 Helmer described each ‘power’ first with a case study of a company， then by describing the intricacies of it， and finally with a proof how each power drives continued excess profitability it in the chapter appendix。 The mix of anecdotes and a mathematical derivation of how wielding each power gives a company the ability for excess profits （i。e。 "alpha"） made this book the whole package。The author set out to be "simple but not simplistic。" This book was not simple。 It behooves you to brush up on your knowledge of mathematical logic and expand your vocabulary before picking up this title。 I’d have given this book five stars if it was written in a way the reader could better find flow or if it was accessible to a wider audience。 。。。more
Dickson Pau
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AwesomeOne of the best books on competitive advantages。 More complete than Competition Demystified in my opinion。 Love it that the author is a successful investor himself。
Connor Van Ooyen
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My favorite strategy book
Alessandro Orlandi
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Similar to Michael Porter's one but I think could have been better。 The sample he made are Netflix and Intel， but I'd be interested to understand how it can be applied to other examples。 Similar to Michael Porter's one but I think could have been better。 The sample he made are Netflix and Intel， but I'd be interested to understand how it can be applied to other examples。 。。。more
Ben Van Horn
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For any business to succeed in the long term， they must have a durable business model。 The notion of Power that Helmer writes about in this book is comprised of two aspects。 A Benefit and a Barrier。 The benefit is something that your company does that is highly valued or better than most of your competitors in your industry。 A barrier is such that you have a position in the marketplace that cannot be arbitraged。 Something that no other competitor can take away from you。 Helmer shares a deep dive For any business to succeed in the long term， they must have a durable business model。 The notion of Power that Helmer writes about in this book is comprised of two aspects。 A Benefit and a Barrier。 The benefit is something that your company does that is highly valued or better than most of your competitors in your industry。 A barrier is such that you have a position in the marketplace that cannot be arbitraged。 Something that no other competitor can take away from you。 Helmer shares a deep dive in various powers from Branding， to Counter-Positioning， to Scale， and others by sharing examples of Intel， Netflix， and Pixar。 。。。more
Quan Mt
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Reading this short book is more helpful than 3 other lengthy strategy books that I read。 Short and practical， focus on the content， not the author - the quality standard of a business book。
Varun Choraria
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Gold。
Steven
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Simply one of the best business books I have read in the last 10 years。 If you are a "systems" thinker and spend a lot of time on strategy and new economy businesses there is simply no better book。 Simply one of the best business books I have read in the last 10 years。 If you are a "systems" thinker and spend a lot of time on strategy and new economy businesses there is simply no better book。 。。。more
Govind Chandrasekhar
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I love books that help me solidify frameworks around seemingly amorphous concepts。 This book did that for me with "Strategy"。It draws on concepts （like network effects and scale economies） that are widely touted， along with some that are less popular （like counter-positioning） and brings them together into a tight framework。Useful for entrepreneurs/executives and for value investors。 I love books that help me solidify frameworks around seemingly amorphous concepts。 This book did that for me with "Strategy"。It draws on concepts （like network effects and scale economies） that are widely touted， along with some that are less popular （like counter-positioning） and brings them together into a tight framework。Useful for entrepreneurs/executives and for value investors。 。。。more
Kevin Kaiser
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I think this is one of those books where you can read a bullet point review。 The 7 powers is a useful exercise you can quickly go through to see if your business is maximizing it's strategy。 I think this is one of those books where you can read a bullet point review。 The 7 powers is a useful exercise you can quickly go through to see if your business is maximizing it's strategy。 。。。more
Chanh Nguyen
，
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory。 Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat。1。 1st principle thinking will lead to unbox the combination of resolution 2。 Don't underestimate the not-to-do list 3。 Avoiding stupidity is easier than seeking brilliance Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory。 Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat。1。 1st principle thinking will lead to unbox the combination of resolution 2。 Don't underestimate the not-to-do list 3。 Avoiding stupidity is easier than seeking brilliance 。。。more
Jonathan Pancerman
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A great framework to hang a understanding of strategy on。Loved reading this and found myself nodding。 Crystallized a lit of separate observations and thoughts I have come across and experienced with anecdotal， theoretical and detailed support。 Highly digestible！
Simas Gradeckas
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Those who read this book and apply it， hold a durable competitive advantage （aka Power）。 Book of the year。
Lam
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