Race for the World: Countdown to Build a Great Global Firm

by Jeremy Oppenheim, Bryan Lowell L., Wilhelm Rall, et al.

Book Overview

Informed by the findings of McKinsey and Company's extensive investigations of the problems and practices of globalizing firms, this text contends that the rewards of building a great global firm in the late 1990s are extrordinary.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087584846X
• ISBN13: 9780875848464
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Length: 364 Pages
• Weight: 1.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Business strategy for inexorable globalization

Even with the benefit of hindsight, it may not fundamentally matter how much of this book written in 1999 by four McKinsey consultants may seem overtaken by the facts of the post-Internet bubble of the late 1990s. This includes the collapse of Enron, a major McKinsey client which is nonetheless cited in this book as an agile player and adaptator to the inexorbale challenge of globalization which is at the heart of this book. It would be premature for business strategists or policy makers to wholly dismiss this book on account of such obvious errors of judgment. The basic framework within which this book views the future is shared by similar analyses done by other organizations. Because world trade has tended to grow faster than world economic output, the share of world output produced and consumed in global markets will inevitably grow rapidly - accordingly to this book, from about one-fifth of global output in the late 1990s to four-fifths by 2030. Within this time frame, total global ouptut will also grow, from $28 trillion in 1997 to $91 trillion in 2027. Whence the opportunities for a susbtantial reshaping of the competitive space for global corporations. What matters is that the fundamental message of this book (which is not by itself novel) is unchanged by the contemporary drivers of competitiveness for national economies and corporations: a dramatic lowering of so-called interaction costs and of barriers in product and factor markets continues to erode the advanatges of geographic incumbents in the business world, fostering the creation of cross-geographic specialists and consolidation of traditional integrators.Drawing substantially from Mckinsey's own research and data gathered from its Fortune 500 clientele, as well as insights from unconventional non-business sources such as Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, And Steel, the book advises global corporate leaders on how to reshape their firms and create global talent teams. The book is, not surprisingly - given the audience of the book - silent on what policy implications there are for countries which are also trying to adapt to these realities, other than the obvious imperative to open their national economies to world-class suppliers of tangible and intangible capital. There remains an important policy agenda to explore if one takes the fundamental propositions of this book seriously.

Very clear vision

I appreciated very much the clear analisys of the world economic trends. It suggests you a way, a light to manage business in a world of dynamic transition and complexity.It is a very useful tool to understand what is happening in the global market and especially if you work in a global company like me.

What Will It Take to Win?

According to its authors, this book "offers a new and useful way of thinking about strategy in a world economy that is rapidly integrating....[therefore] the pace of economic transformation will continue to accelerate over the next several decades. In the next thirty years we will see radical econmic structuring in every industry and every national economy." Strategies are urgently needed to build a great global firm. Race for the World provides such strategies.I like the way the book is organized. First, the sauthors examine the nature and extent of "the race" in terms of the transition economy, running the race, gaining the high ground en route, and (meanwhile) maintaining control to accommodate the market-capitalization imperative. Then in Part II, the authors shift their attention to what is necessary to "winning the race." Not every reader will fully agree with all of their observations and suggestions; however, all readers will (in my opinion) welcome the authors' circumspection, precision, and attention to relevant detail. This is a very carefully reasoned work. For me, one of the most valuable sections of the book is "Moving Forward: Classes of Ideas" in Chapter 11, the final chapter. According to the authors, there are three "classes of ideas": those which have high returns relative to investment because they leverage a company's existing familiarity advantage; those which have the potential to offer attractive returns, but require that unfamiliarity be overcome before risks and returns can be reasonably estimated; and finally, those which involve real uncertainty...especially in terms of risk. The "race for the world" will be won by those who formulate and then manage these three classes of ideas, who shape the future by competing in the transition economy in new ways. The authors favor "intangible-heavy, capital light approaches" to building superior value propositions. Race for the World provides no guarantees. (The authors know better than that.) Rather, like a beacon on a foggy day or a dark night, Race for the World suggests a prudent direction to follow...and one then to be followed with both caution and passion.

Excellent

I am a college student and read this book because I am very interested in globalization topics. The authors used numerous real-life examples to convey their unique point of view regarding the direction the global economy is heading towards. This book was very thought provoking and hard to put down.

A book that you have to keep close to you

Lowell gives us the inside on the development of new trends regarding global strategy. This book provides fresh ideas and innovative points of view that will help to manage your company to the top.This book it's a must for manager traveling the fast lane to the top of an organization.