Businesses often find themselves trapped in a competitive dogfight,
scratching and clawing for market share with products consumers view as
largely undifferentiated. Conventional wisdom suggests that dogfights
are to be expected as marketplaces mature, giving rise to the notion
that there are "bad" industries where it is unlikely that any company
can succeed.

But there are notable exceptions in which
enlightened executives have changed the rules to grasp the holy grail of
business: long-term profitable growth. Rather than joining the
dogfights raging within their industry, companies such as Apple, FedEx,
and Starbucks have chosen to become metaphorical cats, continuously
renewing their distinctive strategies to compete on their own terms.

In If You're in a Dogfight, Become a Cat,
Leonard Sherman draws on four decades of experience in management
consulting, venture capital, and teaching business strategy at Columbia
Business School to share practical advice on two of the most vexing
issues facing business executives: why is it so hard to achieve
long-term profitable growth, and what can companies do to break away
from the pack?

Sherman takes the reader on a provocative journey
through the building blocks of business strategy by challenging
conventional wisdom on a number of questions that will redefine
management best practices:

• What should be the overarching
purpose of your business?• Do you really know what your strategy is?• Is
there such a thing as a bad industry?• Where do great ideas come from
and how do I find them?• What makes products meaningfully different?•
What makes and breaks great brands?• How and when should I disrupt my
own company?• What are the imperatives to achieving long-term profitable
growth?

Filled with dozens of illustrative examples of inspiring
successes and dispiriting falls from grace, this book provides deep
insights on how to become the cat in a dogfight, whether you are a CEO,
mid-level manager, aspiring business school student, or curious observer
interested in achieving sustained profitable growth.