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If your goal is anything but profitability – if it’s to be big, or to grow fast, or to become a technology leader – you’ll hit problems.

Michael Porter

A strategy delineates a territory in which a company seeks to be unique.
MICHAEL PORTER

Company Seek Strategy Territory Unique
I teach in the medical school, the School of Public Health, the Kennedy School of Government, and the Business School. And it’s the best perch… because most of my work crosses boundaries.
MICHAEL PORTER

Boundary Government Medicine Teaching
Good leaders need a positive agenda, not just an agenda of dealing with crisis.
MICHAEL PORTER

Deal Goodness Leadership Need Positive
The thing is, continuity of strategic direction and continuous improvement in how you do things are absolutely consistent with each other. In fact, they’re mutually reinforcing.
MICHAEL PORTER

Consistency Direction Each Other Improvement Strategy
The chief strategist of an organization has to be the leader – the CEO.
MICHAEL PORTER

Leadership Organization Strategy
Health care historically has been a very siloed field that’s organized around medical specialties – urology, cardiac surgery, and so forth – and around the supply of these specialty services. The patient is the ping-pong ball that moves from service to service.
MICHAEL PORTER

Health History Medicine Organization Patient Service
Billions are wasted on ineffective philanthropy. Philanthropy is decades behind business in applying rigorous thinking to the use of money.
MICHAEL PORTER

Business Money Philanthropy Thinking Time Wasted Time
There’s a fundamental distinction between strategy and operational effectiveness.
MICHAEL PORTER

Effect Fundamental Operational Strategy
Risk is a function of how poorly a strategy will perform if the ‘wrong’ scenario occurs.
MICHAEL PORTER

Function Performance Poor Risk Strategy Wrong
Strategy is about setting yourself apart from the competition. It’s not a matter of being better at what you do – it’s a matter of being different at what you do.
MICHAEL PORTER

Better Competition Different Started Yourself
In the vast majority of businesses, there is simply no such thing as “the best.”
MICHAEL PORTER

Best Business Majority Simplicity
The U.S. is facing a structural competitiveness problem that is leading to the weakest economy we have seen in generations.
MICHAEL PORTER

Competition Economy Face Generation Structure Weakness
If your goal is anything but profitability – if it’s to be big, or to grow fast, or to become a technology leader – you’ll hit problems.
MICHAEL PORTER

Big Goal Leadership Problem Profit Yourself
Ultimately, health care fails the most basic test. It’s not organized around the needs of the patient.
MICHAEL PORTER

Basic Care Failure Health Need Patient
Strategy is choice. Strategy means saying no to certain kinds of things.
MICHAEL PORTER

Choice Decline Kind Strategy
A target should go with every goal. A target is the value that defines success.
MICHAEL PORTER

Definition Goal Success Target Value
You can’t be all things to all people.
MICHAEL PORTER

Be Yourself People Self Love
Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it’s about deliberately choosing to be different.
MICHAEL PORTER

Choice Different Strategy Yourself
The company without a strategy is willing to try anything.
MICHAEL PORTER

Company Ideas Try Willing
Technology has given us this wonderful opportunity to have low energy costs. We have to seize that, rather than keep debating and discussing and fighting over it.
MICHAEL PORTER

Cost Discussion Energy Fight Low Opportunity Technology Wonderful
The ability to change constantly and effectively is made easier by high-level continuity.
MICHAEL PORTER

Ability Change Constant Continue
Change brings opportunities. On the other hand, change can be confusing.
MICHAEL PORTER

Change Confusion Hands Opportunity
Operational effectiveness and strategy are both essential to superior performance.
MICHAEL PORTER

Effect Operational Performance Superior
The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.
MICHAEL PORTER

Choice Essence Strategy Yourself
Sound strategy starts with having the right goal
MICHAEL PORTER

Goal Right Sound Start
Companies operating in urban communities have a tremendous ripple effect.
MICHAEL PORTER

Community Company Effect Urban
The purpose of the corporation must be redefined as creating shared value, not just profit per se. This will drive the next wave of innovation and productivity growth in the global economy.
MICHAEL PORTER

Creation Definition Economy Global Production Profit Purpose

If your goal is anything but profitability – if it’s to be big, or to grow fast, or to become a technology leader – you’ll hit problems.

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If your goal is anything but profitability – if it’s to be big, or to grow fast, or to become a technology leader – you’ll hit problems.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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