Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy
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- Create Date：2021-09-09 08:53:18
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Joan Magretta
- ISBN：1422160599
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Summary
Competitive advantage。 The value chain。 Five forces。 Industry structure。 Differentiation。 Relative cost。 If you want to understand how companies achieve and sustain competitive success， Michael Porter’s frameworks are the foundation。 But while everyone in business may know Porter’s name， many managers misunderstand and misuse his concepts。
Understanding Michael Porter sets the record straight， providing the first concise， accessible summary of Porter’s revolutionary thinking。 Written with Porter’s full cooperation by Joan Magretta， his former editor at Harvard Business Review， this new book delivers fresh， clear examples to illustrate and update Porter’s ideas。
Magretta uses her wide business experience to translate Porter’s powerful insights into practice and to correct the most common misconceptions about them—for instance， that competition is about being unique， not being the best; that it is a contest over profits， not a battle between rivals; that strategy is about choosing to make some customers unhappy， not being all things to all customers。
An added feature is an original Q&A with Porter himself， which includes answers to managers’ FAQs。
Eminently readable， this book will enable every manager in your organization to grasp Porter’s ideas—and swiftly deploy them to drive your company’s success。
Understanding Michael Porter sets the record straight， providing the first concise， accessible summary of Porter’s revolutionary thinking。 Written with Porter’s full cooperation by Joan Magretta， his former editor at Harvard Business Review， this new book delivers fresh， clear examples to illustrate and update Porter’s ideas。
Magretta uses her wide business experience to translate Porter’s powerful insights into practice and to correct the most common misconceptions about them—for instance， that competition is about being unique， not being the best; that it is a contest over profits， not a battle between rivals; that strategy is about choosing to make some customers unhappy， not being all things to all customers。
An added feature is an original Q&A with Porter himself， which includes answers to managers’ FAQs。
Eminently readable， this book will enable every manager in your organization to grasp Porter’s ideas—and swiftly deploy them to drive your company’s success。
Reviews
Jb
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Concise and dense。 Nice examples。
Greg Bae
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Excellent strategy field manual for busy managers。The distillation of insights and logical structure makes the book more assertively than Porter’s own works。Key themes:The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do。Competition is not to be the best， rather it’s to be the most unique。Strategy is the antidote to competition。Goals or aspirations， or singling out values， are not strategy。 None of these address the key question of performance in the face of competition。 What value will your organ Excellent strategy field manual for busy managers。The distillation of insights and logical structure makes the book more assertively than Porter’s own works。Key themes:The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do。Competition is not to be the best， rather it’s to be the most unique。Strategy is the antidote to competition。Goals or aspirations， or singling out values， are not strategy。 None of these address the key question of performance in the face of competition。 What value will your organization create and how will you capture some of that value for yourself？ That is strategy’s job。Strategy explains how an organization， faced with competition， will achieve superior performance。 The goal of strategy is superior profitability。 One of its components is superior price vs competition。 The other is superior costs。Value proposition is customer-facing and value chain is internal-facing。 Match demand to supply to create strategic positioning。 。。。more
Calvin Isch
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Chock-full of distilled wisdom on strategy and competition， containing endless examples， this one is worth the short time commitment for those interested in creating value。 A one sentence summary: identify a unique “value proposition” and tailor your organization to provide that value。
William Goefron
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The book starts by exploring the question: What is competition in business？ Then follows by exploring the concept of strategy as a response to competition。 Porter’s work attempts to bridge the gap between the models of economic theory and the case studies of business practice。 His frameworks of the ‘5 forces’ in my view successfully accomplishes that and Magretta manages to communicate Porter’s ideas neatly within this small book。 Well worth a read for anyone wanting an introduction to business The book starts by exploring the question: What is competition in business？ Then follows by exploring the concept of strategy as a response to competition。 Porter’s work attempts to bridge the gap between the models of economic theory and the case studies of business practice。 His frameworks of the ‘5 forces’ in my view successfully accomplishes that and Magretta manages to communicate Porter’s ideas neatly within this small book。 Well worth a read for anyone wanting an introduction to business strategy。 （However you can also choose to watch a 1 hour lecture by Porter on YouTube which I felt broadly covers most of the key points from this book） 。。。more
Ben
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Clear and compelling。 Just wish everyone bought in and stuck to it。
Pedro Gonzalez
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É como um resumo comentado das obras de Michael Porter。 Achei sensacional， principalmente para quem ainda não leu diretamente os livros de Porter。 É 1 insight por parágrafo！
Wilson Moreno
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Pretty much the whole MBA in a book。
Jun Yan
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The five forces1。 Unique Value proposition 2。 Tailored value chain3。 Trade offs4。 Fit 5。 Continuity over time
Hector López
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So many errors about strategy flow for not knowing Michael Porter。 Sure， with the priceless help of Joan Magretta with a fresh， practical and a careful writing。A must read for the strategist。
Olivier Grange-Labat
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Disclaimer: I’m an absolute beginner on the subject of corporate strategies。As such， the simple idea of being exposed to decades of Michael Porter’s work in such a short book was a source of excitement by itself。This book didn’t fail to deliver and I really enjoyed reading it。 It felt like some sort of good introduction on the subject， and at the same time that it could be read again to better understand it。Exemples of strategies by IKEA， Rent a Car， Southwest Airlines， etc。 were insightful to b Disclaimer: I’m an absolute beginner on the subject of corporate strategies。As such， the simple idea of being exposed to decades of Michael Porter’s work in such a short book was a source of excitement by itself。This book didn’t fail to deliver and I really enjoyed reading it。 It felt like some sort of good introduction on the subject， and at the same time that it could be read again to better understand it。Exemples of strategies by IKEA， Rent a Car， Southwest Airlines， etc。 were insightful to better capture the theory and fun to read。It contains a few good tools to help formulate the strategy of your own company and/or evaluate it。 。。。more
Thijs Niks
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Porter’s business strategy models （five forces， etc） remain some of the most useful available and this book is a great summary of his collected works。 It discusses what competition is， how to analyze an industry and a company’s performance in that industry， how to define and evaluate a strategy （value， trade-offs， fit， continuity）， and how that can create a competitive advantage。 Don’t forget to read the interview with Porter at the end of the book。 The only thing I missed was more （detailed） ca Porter’s business strategy models （five forces， etc） remain some of the most useful available and this book is a great summary of his collected works。 It discusses what competition is， how to analyze an industry and a company’s performance in that industry， how to define and evaluate a strategy （value， trade-offs， fit， continuity）， and how that can create a competitive advantage。 Don’t forget to read the interview with Porter at the end of the book。 The only thing I missed was more （detailed） case studies， which could have been added as appendix material。 。。。more
Shane
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Actually quite good:Explains strategy in a practical， digestible wayUses examples from firm failures and successesCommunicated in unsmug， straightforward tone
Michael Williams
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This is a very helpful treatment of Porter's work。 It's a succinct summary， and explainer of some of the most important concepts。 Highly recommend。 This is a very helpful treatment of Porter's work。 It's a succinct summary， and explainer of some of the most important concepts。 Highly recommend。 。。。more
Nacho Bassino
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An interesting short summary of Porter's most significant ideas like the competitive forces， value chain， competitive advantage， and so on。 Much simpler and direct than reading Porter himself and with well-articulated "synergies" between concepts。 An interesting short summary of Porter's most significant ideas like the competitive forces， value chain， competitive advantage， and so on。 Much simpler and direct than reading Porter himself and with well-articulated "synergies" between concepts。 。。。more
Pedro Morales D
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One of the best books I have ever read about strategy and competition。 Micheal Porters ideas are applicable for almost any industry and are very easy to understand。 "Aim be unique， not the best"。 One of the best books I have ever read about strategy and competition。 Micheal Porters ideas are applicable for almost any industry and are very easy to understand。 "Aim be unique， not the best"。 。。。more
Rob Litterst
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Too lazy to read Porter’s longer works。 This provides a great summary of the key points。
Yechan
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The book provides a high-level summary of MP's ideas， but it is a little too simplistic。 If you are an investor looking to further your understanding of competitive advantage， I would suggest the first seven chapters of Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy。 The book provides a high-level summary of MP's ideas， but it is a little too simplistic。 If you are an investor looking to further your understanding of competitive advantage， I would suggest the first seven chapters of Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy。 。。。more
Christopher
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Solid， proper business book right here。 It’s good to pick apart the brain of one of Harvard’s finest。 Definitely a more dry， boring， or a “just the facts” version of a Zero to One or Play Bigger — but is more technically sound （like reading proper sheet music rather than producing music intuitively）。 Peter Thiel’s 0-1 Being one of my all-time favorite business books， it’s now evident that most of his opinions on competition/strategy are adapted from Porter’s and Drucker’s landmark works。 After r Solid， proper business book right here。 It’s good to pick apart the brain of one of Harvard’s finest。 Definitely a more dry， boring， or a “just the facts” version of a Zero to One or Play Bigger — but is more technically sound （like reading proper sheet music rather than producing music intuitively）。 Peter Thiel’s 0-1 Being one of my all-time favorite business books， it’s now evident that most of his opinions on competition/strategy are adapted from Porter’s and Drucker’s landmark works。 After reading this overview/synopsis， I don’t feel it’s necessary to read Porter’s actual classics themselves; which are much more dense and voluminous。 Probably every MBA in the country （and beyond） is studying Porter’s work， but how many of them are actually successful at applying it？ As with anything else， EXECUTION is the game。 So， you may hire a high-priced HBS consultant or MBA on staff， but can he/she actually deliver the goods （beyond just talking the talk and saying all the right things）？ My guess is no — at least not for the majority。 It’s comparable to trying to draw human figures without an underlying （comprehensive） understanding of human anatomy。 Sure， you may fool yourself into believing you have what it takes on the surface or at face-value （skin-deep）， but you’d be severely underestimating the vast amount of nuances， intricacies， and hard work that makes the human machine （or lemonade stand） actually function （and separates the poor from the great artists）。 For instance， do Harvard MBA’s know anything （or even care） about product development — the craftsmanship and amount of tinkering behind bringing a top-quality product to market？ Or， do they think they can talk themselves out of the hard work， and throw their weight around with a focus on the high-level strategy alone？ That’s like skipping all the appetizers， the main course， and going straight for desert IMO （or as another analogy — skipping the foreplay and going straight to sex）。 。。。more
Abhav Kedia
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An excellent handbook for product management and corporate strategy。 Understanding Michael Porter does a great job of distilling the key thoughts behind competitive advantage and strategy， words that are used so widely today that they could mean anything， and so， often mean nothing。 What I really like is the way it lays out the fundamentals of competitive advantage - the value proposition （what you produce） and the value chain （how you produce it）。 These are central concepts that can be applied An excellent handbook for product management and corporate strategy。 Understanding Michael Porter does a great job of distilling the key thoughts behind competitive advantage and strategy， words that are used so widely today that they could mean anything， and so， often mean nothing。 What I really like is the way it lays out the fundamentals of competitive advantage - the value proposition （what you produce） and the value chain （how you produce it）。 These are central concepts that can be applied across industries and positions。 。。。more
Steven Bentley
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Very helpful。 Crisp and to the point。 Makes one realize how superficially strategy is understood
Paul Taylor
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Lots of great ideas and clearly articulated。
Bharat Reddy
，
If I could recommend a strategy book for managers， this would be the one。
Robert Martin
，
A highly accessible guide to Porter， which shows that there is much more to his thinking that the famous Five Forces。 A common misconception is that the Five Forces can tell you about a company's competitive position。 Instead， they are meant to characterise the competitive structure of the industry – separate analysis is needed to understand the strategy of companies within the industry。 A highly accessible guide to Porter， which shows that there is much more to his thinking that the famous Five Forces。 A common misconception is that the Five Forces can tell you about a company's competitive position。 Instead， they are meant to characterise the competitive structure of the industry – separate analysis is needed to understand the strategy of companies within the industry。 。。。more
Rafael Baldasso
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Na minha percepção o famigerado 80/20 é super bem feito nesse livro。 A autora não tenta fazer os assuntos parecerem mais complexos do que são e ao máximo tenta explicar o racional por trás de todas as ideias do Porter， tomando o tempo pra especificar o que elas NÃO são e o onde elas NÃO deveriam se aplicadas。 Pra maioria das pessoas que já estudou Porter em algum contexto， os primeiros capítulos: 1。A Mentalidade correta; 2。 As cinco forças ; 3。 Vantagem competitiva; 4。 criação de valor。 Vão ser Na minha percepção o famigerado 80/20 é super bem feito nesse livro。 A autora não tenta fazer os assuntos parecerem mais complexos do que são e ao máximo tenta explicar o racional por trás de todas as ideias do Porter， tomando o tempo pra especificar o que elas NÃO são e o onde elas NÃO deveriam se aplicadas。 Pra maioria das pessoas que já estudou Porter em algum contexto， os primeiros capítulos: 1。A Mentalidade correta; 2。 As cinco forças ; 3。 Vantagem competitiva; 4。 criação de valor。 Vão ser uma revisão e aprofundamento no conteúdo， mas nos capítulos finais: 5。 Trade offs; 6。 Fit; 7。 Continuidade。 É onde eu acho que o livro é genial。 Nessa parte， a autora esclarece como uma empresa não só adquire， mas defende uma vantagem competitiva。 Sem cair em truísmos como: ~~eficiência~~ ~~inovação~~Livro super sensato e sem bullshitagem。 Recomendo pra todo mundo que fez Engenharia de produção/ADM ou trabalha na área de consultoria。 。。。more
Manas Saloi
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I judge a book by the amount of text I end up highlighted。 Any good nonfiction books = ~20%I ended up highlighting and saving almost 80% of the book。 It is that high in terms of substance
Clayton
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Boring overview of strategy。 not really helpful with Strategy class。
Andrea Carlevato
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Great summary book on Porter’s theories， very crisply and clearly written。 Very enjoyable。
Christian Erb
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Great summary on strategy with all core concepts of Porter well described。 I can definitely recommend it to any manager to get a high level overview on strategic thinking
Germán Sánchez
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Either a manager or an entrepreneur， this book is the one guide you'll need to frame your strategy towards a sustainable competitive advantage。A must read！ Either a manager or an entrepreneur， this book is the one guide you'll need to frame your strategy towards a sustainable competitive advantage。A must read！ 。。。more
Reborn D
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