Competitive Strategy

What Is Strategy

By: Michael Porter

Narrated by: Deaver Brown

Length: 1 hr and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

This audiobook was created based on Michael Porter's landmark book Competitive Strategy. This was Mr. Porter's synopsis of his book for the Harvard Business Review. This audiobook emphasizes that operational effectiveness is not strategy, that strategy rests on unique activities done by the organization, strategic positioning, the entrepreneurial edge, generic and specific strategies, that sustainable strategic positions require trade offs, that proper fit drives both competitive advantage and sustainability, rediscovering focused strategies, the failure of blurred and straddled strategies, the growth trap, that profitable growth is often niche oriented, the role of leadership in creating and maintaining clear strategies, and that the new entrant and new company advantage is executing clear strategies.

©2010 Michael Porter (P)2010 Christina Brown

Tough to listen to this one

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I struggled to listen all the way to the end of this book. The subject matter is presented pretty dryly- more like a college thesis paper- and clearly not a

What do you think your next listen will be?

Blue Ocean Strategy

Do you think Competitive Strategy needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No.

Great content, poor reading style

Would you consider the audio edition of Competitive Strategy to be better than the print version?

Absolutely not. I have read the original article by Porter at the HBR magazine. I wanted to have the text in audio to listen to it again and reinforce concepts while driving. However, the reading is rather poor, the voice of the reader is monotonous, there is no sound editing, the noise of the cracking chair of the reader in the background distracts and, overall, the audio quality is not satisfying.

What did you like best about this story?

The contents. Michael Porter's ideas are very useful and powerful

What didn’t you like about Deaver Brown’s performance?

The reading is disapassionate and rather poor, the voice of the reader is monotonous, there is no sound editing (e.g. a sound indicating a change of section), the noise of the cracking chair of the reader in the background speaks of sloppiness in the recording process and, overall, the audio quality is not satisfying as the driving normal sounds require high quality of the recording.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. The monotonous reading was a deterrant of this. Only the qaulity of the contents prevented me from not finishing the audiobook.

Any additional comments?

Michael Porter's work deserves much better audiobook quality!.

Terrible audio quality

What disappointed you about Competitive Strategy?

This article is very difficult to listen to. The audio quality is poor; there is echo and editing remarks throughout. The narrator is lifeless.

What did you like best about this story?

This is a seminal work in academics and it should be better wrought.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Deaver Brown?

A woman woul dbe better suited to narrate the text.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

This is a seminal work in academics.

Any additional comments?

Technology has certainly improved enough to make this technically more acceptable.

Great content, atrocious production

Where does Competitive Strategy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm a big fan of Michael Porter and this was a broad overview of his concepts. As far as business books, Competitive Strategy is a must-read (listen).

What didn’t you like about Deaver Brown’s performance?

Despite excellent content, I could not get over the fact that he continually pronounced "Ikea" as aye-a-KEY-a. Did the editor not understand how this should be pronounced? One time would be tolerable. Twenty mispronounciations was a distraction. The sound is also of low quality though this is more a production issue than the narrator.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I would like to say it was an extremely positive reaction, which it may have been had the narrator not sounded like he was reading out loud in my bathroom, but the poor production and performance distracted from the content. I'll never see another Ikea store again without thinking of this book...based solely on the way the narrator pronounced it. So I guess that is a positive for Ikea.

Any additional comments?

Despite the performance, I would recommend the book. It's a short listen, and the content is excellent.

Thrilled it's on audible, good for price

Would you try another book from Michael Porter and/or Deaver Brown?

I couldn't get over the pronunciation of Ikea. The recording sounded like it was done with an old-school tape recorder. Other than that, for $2 its good to hear a classic.

What didn’t you like about Deaver Brown’s performance?

I did not care for his performance on this one.

Boring

The narrator was awful. He did not know how to pronounce Ikea, snoozer! The content was outdated, using JCPenny as a positive example.

Estae bien

No es el libro completo, sería fantástico que alarasen eso desde el principio, haría las cosas más fáciles. Aunque el capítulo es muy bueno.

Too Noisy

Background noise is really annoying. You can not focus on the book and it is just 94 minutes (not the whole book)

Great synopsis of strategy

Great synopsis of strategy that addresses the basic principles without a lot of fluff. It separates operational efficiency from strategy making clear what is required to generate a sustainable competitive advantage.

Good info, okay audible lecture

I really enjoy Michael Porter's writing style and brilliance. Listening to the narrator was more like sitting through a lecture than listening to the words professor Porter wrote. It was cheap and worth the price I paid. Good info. Okay audible version. I enjoyed the physical book more.

Grating voice, brilliant content

Sorry Mr Brown, your enthusiasm for your subject is not conveyed in your vocal delivery. Such a pity. The brilliance of the analysis deserves to be conveyed with passion and vibrancy, not in a nasal twang with a strange background echo.
On second listening (I was hypnotised to sleep on the first), I found the content everything I had hoped.
Porter challenges the modern shibolleths of process and continuous improvement in favour of radically strategic free-thinking. Listen and weep for the years of conventionality that creates "anti-competition".

Killer strategy guidance

I cannot get enough of this very clear book. It has assisted me in all of my strategic thinking and planning for my company and beyond!

Narration Poor, content useful

Make sure you listen to the sample before buying this. It is not the usual high quality that survives audibles quality control - which in this instance is ironic

Decent timing

Good Read. Reading it has helped me understand strategic positioning. Competitive strategy and operational positioning

Sounds like it’s recorded in a toilet in 1980

I’m sure the content is good , but the recording quality is dreadful. There are other versions on audible that are better I’m sure