The Future of Competition:

I found The Future of Competition: Co-creating Unique Value with Customers to be an easy read and interesting for anyone from a new MBA student to anybody that interested in business. C.K.Prahalad, who is considered as one of today's top management gurus, presented a new idea that business competitions have started to get tougher because customers nowadays not only have more access to the information but they also network and discuss products with one another and become more powerful factors in business transactions. This paradigm shift leads to the demand for higher customization and transparency and it is very important for managements at every level to recognize and adapt to this new trend.
In order to stay competitive in the world of informative and technology, the co-creating value was presented as a new approach for corporate managements that the company must shift from a firm-centric perspective to an experience and co-creation centric which we can see this change throughout the markets nowadays. Companies are no longer focusing on single transaction and by means they want to get to know each of their customers to create a personalize relationship with each of them. Many examples of practices throughout his book are not only limited to tangible products as he represented examples in the service sectors such as ER room as well.
In a new co-creating value environment, managers of large and medium organizations can relate to customers through information systems that is available in real-time and must be able to response to that interaction quickly if needed. Further in the book, the authors develop the idea of the keys building blocks of co-creation or DART—Dialogue, Access, Risk Assessment and Transparency in more details.
I would recommend anyone to read this book. The written style in the book is neither heavy nor too technical. Most ideas were elaborated through real scenarios which can be quite entertained and insightful for some readers. Though many examples might seem to be outdated or already in place in today’s world, the core value of co-creation still remains true. Hopefully sometime in the near future, we will see customers and companies collaborate and create a better market place for everyone. 

Review: The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value With Customers

This is a great book giving lot of insight into business strategy and why we need to be innovative to keep on winning. Read full review