Conventional wisdom on strategy is no longer a reliable guide. In Essential Advantage, Booz & Company's Cesare Mainardi and Paul Leinwand maintain that success in any market accrues to firms with coherence: a tight match between their strategic direction and the capabilities that make them unique.

Achieving this clarity takes a sharpness of focus that only exceptional companies have mastered.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Strategic Coherence
1. The Essence of Advantage
2. The Coherence Premium
3. The Capabilities-Driven Strategy
Chapter 2 Elements of a Capabilities - Driven Strategy
4. The Way to Play
5. The Capabilities System
6. Product and Service Fit
Chapter 3 Creating Value
7. Unlocking Growth
8. Mergers and Acquisitions
9. Cut Cots and Grow Stronger
Chapter 4 Living Coherence Every Day
10. The Essential Advantage Road Map
11. Organizing for Coherence
12. The Capable Leader