Imagine running a business without a strategy. It would be akin to driving blindfolded, to building a house without a blueprint. Yet just fifty years ago business "plans" were mere extrapolations of the status quo, heedless of the forces that determine the fate of today's organizations: competitive threats, customer needs and business costs. The concept of strategy changed all that, paving the way for the creation of the modern corporate world. The Lords of Strategy recounts the birth and evolution of strategy - arguably the most influential business paradigm of the past half century - and the trials and triumphs of the surprising disruptors who invented it. Principal among them were four men - Bruce Henderson, founder of the Boston Consulting Group; Bill Bain, creator of Bain & Company; Fred Gluck, longtime managing director of McKinsey & Company; and Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter - each obsessed with pinpointing how companies achieve competitive advantage over others. This insider account reveals the industry's pioneers as "idea junkies": a new breed of intellectuals who wielded concepts as weapons for fighting business battles. Their relentless efforts to plumb the depths of competition exploded much of the prevailing wisdom, galvanized executives into action, and forced companies to understand themselves as never before. An important book by one of management's keenest observers, The Lords of Strategy provides listeners with a deeper understanding of the world they compete in, and a sharper eye for what works - and what doesn't - when forging strategy.
Toby Lolness may be just one and a half millimeters tall, but he's in big trouble. His father, a brilliant scientist, has discovered an alarming truth about the great oak Tree that Toby's people call home: it's alive. And if they continue digging deeper into the heart of the Tree, their whole civilization could be at risk. In an attempt to silence Professor Lolness, the builders who control things in the Tree take him and his family captive. But Toby manages to escape, taking with him the secret to the Tree's energy - a secret his pursuers will do anything to get their hands on, even if it means killing an innocent boy.
Toby's world is under greater threat than ever before. A giant crater has been dug right into the center of the Tree, moss and lichen have invaded the branches, and one tyrant controls it all. Leo Blue, once Toby's best friend, is holding Toby's beloved Elisha prisoner, hunting the Grass People with merciless force, and inflicting a life of poverty and fear on the Tree People. But after several years among the Grass People, Toby has returned to fight back. And this time he's not alone: a resistance is forming. In the much-anticipated sequel to the award-winning Toby Alone, the compelling eco-adventure reaches its gripping conclusion.
