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Smart Alliances:
A
Practical Guide to Repeatable Success |
Customer Reviews on Amazon
Best Book on The Subject, August 7, 2000
Reviewer: A 1-year old reader from San Francisco, CA USA
I have been following Harbison's and Pekar's work for over a decade. I have
also attended their annual alliance conference in NYC sponsored by the
conference board. For those not familiar with their work, they have
completed 10 alliance studies covering the top 1,000 global companies as
well as a recent study sponsored by the Association of Corporate Growth of
the top small & medium size firms in the U.S. and Europe. Their work is
the cutting edge. We have passed out copies to our executive core. I highly
recommend this book which discusses just the tip of their work and is based
on a number of their studies. To become more familiar with their thinking, I
would suggest the reader also go to the web site "smartalliances.com"
to read some of their latest Viewpoints on the subject. Simply, they are the
leaders in this area. Being an executive in a major high tech firm that does
mutiple alliances, I can state that no other consulting firm or academic
institution has amassed such a wealth of information or experience on this
important subject.
INDUSTRIAL TEAMWORK PAYS OFF !, May 25, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from Vancouver
After reading "Smart Alliances", any business executive will have
gained valuable insight into the fast growing world of strategic alliances.
This book provides an easy to read yet detailed look at what makes an
alliances work and what does not. The insights are reliable as they are
drawn from current direct feedback from top executives of companies in the
Fortune 500, the Business Week top 1,000 and more. The book explores the
real opportunities and challenges that alliances create, explores various
domestic and international case studies, and develops an eight-step road map
for alliance success. It provides guidance for significant organizational
challenges such as the management of alliance legal and governance issues
and the challenge of institutionalizing alliance capabilities for repeatable
success. This book stands alone as a road map to any company considering the
development of strategic business initiatives with complementary
organizations.
In 1980 less than 2% of revenues driven by the top 1,000 US firms came
from alliances where as today (1997) more than 21 % of revenues are alliance
driven. Through the strategic sharing of resources and risk, companies who
develop successful alliances are clearly producing higher returns on
earnings than those who are not.
Alliance Planning, July 19, 2000
Reviewer: Manish Bhandari from Northampton, England
Most of the literature in this field has been restricted to the elements of
technical discontinuity and capital scarcity as the key drivers for the
alliance. The authors admirably widen the scope and in the process alter the
reader's perspective from 'a kind of a deal' to a continuum based approach
of business. There still exists a scope to expand upon the roadmap to
alliances with lot more details and examples from non-technology sectors.
Practice meets theory, May 9, 2000
Reviewer: hart roussel from Pasadena CA USA
Smart Alliances is an excellent review of the benefits of and best practices
for strategic alliances. The authors move beyond theory and give the reader
practical guidance in the new brave world of alliance making. While no one
book on this topic would be sufficient, if I were stranded on a south sea
island and had to make alliances with the natives to survive, this is the
one book I would want to use as a guide.
A 'Best Practice' Approach is the Key, May 6, 2000
Reviewer: Michael Yatsko from USA
It is one thing to conceptually frame how alliances may add value to a
business; it is another to actually execute an alliance strategy in a way
that creates measureable value. Rooted in research, not theory, the authors
offer a 'best practice' approach to alliancing that can be readily applied
to any large company.
Review of Smart Alliances by Harbison and Pekar, April 22, 2000
Reviewer: D. Kundu from USA
This is an excellent guide for those who want to understand the core
principles behind strategic alliances, from opportunities to implementation.
It shows why we are lagging behind in this area in comparison with European
and Asian companies and the opportunities that lies ahead of us. Many
references of alliances through out the book. The chapter on key principles,
best practices and pitfall sections is a practical guide for anyone working
in this area. Overall this book gets my vote for presenting much needed
practical information in an easy reading style that has helped my
understanding of the subject and will be very helpful in my work.
Superb - a Must Read!, May 9, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from Seattle, Washington
Concise well written. I have read several books on strategic alliances.
Mostly, I find antidotes, limited examples and experiences -- simply words
and frameworks not based on facts backed by little research. This book,
however, is based on a wealth of research and experience. Having done
numerous alliances, our firm found that our experiences dovetail with the
knowledge discussed in this book. We highly recommend the book. We have
bought and distributed 70 copies to our senior management. practical
insights. This book provides lots of tools and frameworks to assess real
work on strategic alliances. I believe this is a must read in the subject.
A Must Read For Those Considering Strategic Alliances, May 8, 1999
Reviewer: Mark Lefko, Tegra Capital Associates, LLC. (mlefko@tegra.net) from
California
Smart Alliances is a must read for those looking for new ways of creating
value within their organizations. The book does an excellent job of showing
statistics and considerations which support a case for using alliances as a
means of leveraging upon existing company strengths. In addition the book
has a good roadmap of issues that should be considered in the process. We
work in helping companies to create successful alliances and encourage our
clients to read this book for confirmation that they are pursing the right
strategic approach for the right reasons.
Clear, concise and plenty of new insights, March 8, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from Philadelphia
I have read several books on strategic alliances. Frequently, I find a lot
of repetitiveness. However, in this book I found a lot of useful and
practical insights. This book provides lots of tools and frameworks to
assess real work on strategic alliances. I believe this is a must read in
the subject.
Excellent - The Cutting of Alliances, February 27, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from France
We are a global player and are very familar with John's and Peter's work. We
consider their work as the cutting edge of alliance knowledge. Our company
has formed scores of successful alliances. "Smart Alliances"
reveals what we have learned the hard way. In fact, we ordered 60 copies of
their book which we gave to the CEOs of our partners. If you are considering
doing an alliance or wondering how do you manage them, then this book is a
must read.
The complex issue of creating alliances - made simple, December 24,
1998
Reviewer: Jrguru2@aol.com from New Canaan, Connecticut
As the world continues to shrink the necessity of business alliances is
becoming evident. Smart Alliances explains the advantage of these hybrid
business relationships. The writing is clear and easy to understand. The
charts and graphs are helpful, logical and actionable. Congratulations to
Harbison and Pekar on an excellent book.
Excellent book, December 23, 1998
Reviewer: A reader from Chicago
This book is a very readable very understandable discussion of Strategic
Alliances. The authors present a very logical exposition that describes:
what Strategic Alliances are, why they are important, why they are growing
more and more important with each passing year, how to determine the
applicability of Strategic Alliances to your particular business situation,
how to proceed, what to avoid, how to be successful, and how to repeat that
success in subsequent alliances.
The book contains many examples and case studies and is peppered with
conclusions wrought from surveys and interviews with CEOs in the US, in Asia
and in Europe.
The authors are knowledgeable in the field of Strategic Alliances. They
have produced a book that is destined to become a classic in the field: yet,
the book is understandable by people who are not familiar with the subject.
This book is the best overview of Strategic Alliances available today. It is
an excellent introduction to a subject that is becoming more and more
important in today's business world.
A practical approach to successful alliances of all types., November
18, 1998
Reviewer: John Garcia, The Lubrizol Corporation (jaga@lubrizol.com) from
San Antonio, TX
Pekar & Harbison have delivered a five star punch in the race to harness
theory and research towards successfully repeatable alliance methodologies.
The mix of case studies, theory and practical methods should help people
hone well developed alliance capabilities, or provide a substantial boost up
the learning curve for those new to this critically important field. This
book should be on a required reading list for any organization serious about
making strategic alliances a part of their future success.
AT LAST - A common sense and workable approach to Alliances.,
November 6, 1998
Reviewer: A reader from San Antonio, Texas USA
Finally, a common sense and workable approach to the 'How To's' of creating
and implementing alliances. Perhaps more importantly it clearly depicts how
'alliances' fit in the continuim of extended enterprises. The message is
clear, insightful and useable!
Thank You Peter & John
The most thoroughly researched book on strategic alliances!, November
5, 1998
Reviewer: ted@allianceventures.com from San Francisco,
California
This thoroughly researched book validates what alliance practioners have
learned through hard, grueling, trial and error work. And it offers several
surprising, helpful insights as well.
Pekar's extensive inventory of alliance best practices referred to in the
book baits a reader for his sequel, in order to learn more about the way
alliances really work best!
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