7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy

I read 7 Powers right through in one sitting. I've compartmentalised Silicon Valley go-go-go culture in one area of my brain, and value investors watching paint dry in another areas. This book is the first one that reconciled the two in my head. Strategy/ power/ moat/ barriers are all subtly different and if you're interested in long term cash flows, I encourage you to dive into this book and incorporate these differences into your investing mental models.This book will be good for value investors, tech startup founders and corporate execs. That's a rare trio to serve in one book.I found the "counterpositioning" power the most compelling in terms of new thinking. The example given is Vanguard vs asset managers. Previously I'd seen asset managers as choosing to charge active management fees, the counterpostioning chapter made me realise they had no choice.While tech founders might find a quick read useful, I would encourage professional investors to read it closely and learn the framework Hamilton Helmer has outlined.The charts and "math" are very useful as you go deeper into the concepts, but you can easily gain much by sticking to just the text.

Amazing book about 7 powers aka Moats. Really enjoyed this

Several scratches on cover and damaged corner. Not great when you pay this amount for a paperback.The book/content itself is great.

Finally a book that doesn’t focus on just the generic business advice and leaves execution to “hustling”, but actually attempts to draw a map for anyone looking to transform their business. Will read it again.

Simple but not simplistic view of seven powers any business needs to possess to earn above average returns from the market. Overview of the seven powers but also how dynamics come into play as well. As fundamental as Porter's original strategic texts.

This was recommended to me by someone. To begin with it seemed a bit of a rehash of Michael Porter, etc I got into it I could see that the author had made some valid points by building a more dynamic framework. Still it's very ex-post and I would need to see some ex-ante examples showing whether the framework added value over time. But if you like these strategy-type books this one is pretty reasonable. Having said that you really need to read The Halo Effect by Rosenzweig.

Love this book. Has helped me immensely. Very much recommend.