Corporate Radar: Tracking the Forces That are Shaping Your Business Book

In a world where economic woes in the Philippines can reverberate in Denver... where the Internet spills forth an unstoppable avalanche of cheap information ...and where globalism is paradoxically creating segmentation rather than homogeneity, how can a company safeguard its competitive position? It's a big, perplexing, and absolutely essential question that every business leader confronts. Now, Karl Albrecht, one of America's premier business thinkers, has brilliantly transformed this dynamic, excitin--yet often chaotic and threatenin--landscape into a place that's understandable and readable. Written with the vision of a futurist and the practicality of an entrepreneur, CORPORATE RADAR shows you how to reach beyond the standard business parameter--to analyze the events, trends, and forces that can radically alter your future. You'll scan for potential opportunities and threats in eight key environmental sectors, using a set of figurative "radars:" 1. Customer radar: Understand your customers not only in demographic and behavioral terms, but also by the psychological factors that motivate them. 2. Competitor radar: Evaluate your firm against your primary and secondary competitors, then use your strengths to differentiate yourself. 3. Economic radar: Assess how GDP, employment levels, interest rates, inflation, and currency exchange rates can create or destroy opportunities. 4. Technological radar: Learn about the effects of technological innovations--including what the Internet can and CANNOT do for your business. 5. Social radar: Understand the key social drivers--attitudes, beliefs, emotions--that affect the market acceptance of your "value package." 6. Political radar: Analyze the effect of politics--not just the lawmakers and laws, but the entire "control system" that can influence your business. 7. Legal Radar: Develop an effective legal radar that detects and avoids risks before they crop up. 8. Geophysical radar: Study the physical, tangible world around you--spotting potential problems and forming viable backup options. This is solid, hard-hitting advice that every business leader needs. There are no doomsday prophesies or sugar-coated visions of the future here. Instead, Albrecht uses the discipline of careful cause-and-effect thinking to help you answer specific, relevant questions about what may happen in your future. Packed with crystal-clear insights and real-life examples, CORPORATE RADAR gives you a broader worldview, more astute perceptive abilities, and the tools to knowledgeably assess opportunities and threats. You'll improve your strategic thought processes and decision-making abilitie--and become your own deep-thinking futurist...without getting lost in the ozone.Read More