The Upside

According to Adrian Slywotzky, any company that remains in business long enough is certain to be struck by one or more risk events that have the potential to destroy business design. His premise is that the familiar ways of thinking about traditional risk management (i.e., managing hazards, finances, and operations) won’t help today’s firms cope with the current categories of risks targeting one or more elements in the design of their business models.

The Upside describes and analyzes seven major kinds of strategic risk that threaten the business designs of most companies: (1) a big initiative fails, (2) customers leave, (3) the industry changes, (4) a seemingly unbeatable competitor arrives, (5) a brand loses power, (6) the industry becomes a no-profit zone, and (7) the company stops growing. The book’s goal is to help managers at all levels adopt the mindset that “strategy is risk management” and to start operating under a sustainable value creating paradigm.