I have had the privilege of having Shiv Mathur as my professor of Strategy during my MBA at CASS Business Schools. Actually we have been an small number of privileged students who had this privilege over the years...
The standing joke from new minted MBAs to freshmen like me was "How, well, and Shiv is also writing his book". He had been for the best of 20 years... So we were all surprised when it eventually happened. Not because of its content - we knew better. But simply because Shiv actually thought one day that he had thought enough about the whole strategy field to actually finish it and share these thoughts with the rest of the world...
One of the first marketing and strategy thought leaders to argue that cinemas where competing with restaurants as well as cafes [8-10pm slot], he also broke most of the marketing worlds' rule, pushing all of us to think not in terms of processes [4/5Ps], but in terms of pure strategy. In direct line with Porter and Omae, his thoughts are unique and totally about strategic positioning offerings [as they contain a service as well as a product elements] so that they are perceived as valuable in the eyes of an organisation's customers...
But the beauty of this book is not just that... It is also linking inputs to outputs, arguing effortlessly that any organisation is only the custodian of its assets, which it should forever look at divesting should a better owner be identified... In other words, thanks to Alfred Kenyon's rigorous financial input, linking marketing strategy to financial stewardship... Marketing becoming an extension of the financial rigour expected from any manager these days, as opposed to being a self centred void shell based upon loose and unleashed creativity of sorts... What a novel idea!
The bottom line? Almost all of us who understood and followed Shiv's teachings and spirit have been unordinary successful in whichever field we decided to evolve in. And all of us grateful for his unique contribution. In today's hyper competitive world, our own competitive advantage has been Shiv's teaching. So, according to Shiv's own thinking, I/we should be protecting jealously that know how in order to generate inordinate profits, above and beyond the cost of capital. Yet, that would be a shame: Shiv's gave me so much that I feel it is time to give back... So, buy the book, read it many times, grasp the theory, apply it daily and you will beat your competitors hands down...