【第335回】Rita Gunther McGrath, “The end of competitive advantage”

Stability, not change, is the state that is most dangerous in highly dynamic competitive environments. (kindle ver No. 306)

In traditional MBA courses, most of the cases are based on static environment. When we prepare and discuss such cases, we only have to analyze them from the future and static viewpoint. Such old fashioned MBA viewpoint can’t always adjust to the current dynamic competitive environments.

Then what should we do to do with these changing environments? The author suggests that we should throw away industry perspective, and put on arena perspective instead. Cited as below is the comparison between two perspectives.

Indeed, Fuji Film has been adjusting changing business environments successfully through tremendous internal changes by itself.

Yet, ultimately, it was Fuji’s approach -- investing in new advantages and pulling resources from declining ones -- that proved to be more robust in the face of change. It didn’t get it right every time, and sometimes the transitions were painful. But the company didn’t get trapped by its past. (kindle ver No. 264)

In order for company to change continuously by itself, each company, the author says, should provide and deliver trainings.

Smart companies recognize that continuous training and development is a mechanism to avoid having to fire people when competitive conditions shift, and they invest in training even as they pursue deployment. (kindle ver No. 855)

It seems strong supports to me that developing employees and delivering trainings are key factors to make company accomplish continuous change. And also, I, as a professional of learning and development, have to regard my position as a key success factor to make our company sustainable one.

Gary Hamel, “What matters now”
Walter Isaacson, “Steve Jobs” (again)
Brad Stone, “the everything store”