Repeatability: Build Enduring Businesses for a World of Constant Change

Written by James Allen and Chris Zook

Narrated by Erik Synnestvedt

An argument for simplicity from the bestselling authors of Profit from the Core

Is radical reinvention the key to winning in today’s fast-paced world? Not judging by the results of some of the world’s best-performing companies.

In Repeatability, Chris Zook and James Allen—leaders of Bain & Company’s influential Strategy practice—warn that complexity is a silent killer of profitable growth. Successful companies endure by maintaining simplicity at their core. They don’t stray from, or regularly discard, their business model in pursuit of radical renovation. Instead, they build a “repeatable business model” that produces continuous improvement and allows them to rapidly adapt to change without succumbing to complexity.

Based on a multiyear study of more than two hundred companies, the book stresses the value of repeatability in business, showing how the “big idea” today is really made up of a series of successful smaller ideas driven by a simple and repeatable business model. Zook and Allen show how some of the world’s best-known firms combine a core differentiation model with speed, adaptability, and simplicity to land them at the top for long periods of time. These firms include: Apple, Danaher, DaVita, IKEA, Nike, Olam, Tetra Pak, Vanguard, and others.

CEOs, senior executives, managers, and investors all need to read this book. It’s the new blueprint for reaching the top—and staying there.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Jul 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469001258

James Allen

Nasceu em Leicester, Inglaterra, em 1864, sendo pioneiro do movimento da autoajuda e um dos mais conhecidos escritores filósofos motivacionais. Aos 15 anos, viu-se obrigado a ir trabalhar para sustentar a família depois do assassínio do pai nos Estados Unidos da América, onde procurava trabalho. Allen trabalhou como secretário particular e agente de papelaria em várias empresas manufactureiras britânicas. Em 1893, Allen mudou-se para Londres, onde conheceu Lily Louisa Oram, com quem se casou. Por insistência da mulher, começou a publicar livros dentro da área da espiritualidade, acabando por ganhar fama mundial como «pai da autoajuda» com o seu livro Tu És Aquilo Que Pensas, que inspirou inúmeros filósofos e pensadores até aos dias de hoje. Em 1903, mudou-se para a cidade de Ilfracombe e aí escreveu 19 obras que conquistaram inúmeros leitores, escrevendo sempre até à sua morte, em 1912.

[nielspeterqm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A simple, clear, & strong model for something essential to any total production system: repeatability. Very useful complement to the classic by the same authors, Profit from the Core.

[skjaldofborea · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A simple, clear, & strong model for something essential to any total production system: repeatability. Very useful complement to the classic by the same authors, Profit from the Core.

[miro_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The authors interestingly use their years of top-level international strategy consulting to arrive a some essential dos and don'ts for growing businesses.

It's surprising how many fail, and they highlight the major risks of stagnation through bureaucratic complexity making the unfortunate enterprise a sitting target for more efficient and flexible competitors.

One could call this death by loss of focus and they provide a check list at the end of the book to help a business stick to its core competencies.

The overall text is a little academic and I could recommend Sam Walton's autobiography "Made in America" to catch many of the same ideas in a more entertaining format. The reader can see him arrive at mostly the same place by trail and error.

Certainly a recommendable book for anyone managing a business.