Analysis Without Paralysis: 10 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions

If you’re a manager or business owner, you need tools to make better decisions--about business strategy, marketing, competition, positioning, product development, and much more. In Analysis Without Paralysis, two renowned experts on business analysis and strategy bring you those tools, in plain English!

Babette Bensoussan and Craig Fleisher teach you exactly what you need to know, without dragging you through unnecessarily complex concepts or advanced mathematics. They start with a practical, realistic introduction to the analysis process; then they walk you through ten core sets of analysis techniques that every manager can use effectively.

You’ll master classic techniques like SWOT analysis and Porter’s Five Forces, in addition to the latest approaches to competitor, financial, issue, and value chain analysis. Next, Bensoussan and Fleisher guide you through analyzing the global social, political, and macroenvironmental challenges that will increasingly shape the future of your business.

For each tool, the authors present clear descriptions, context, rationales, strengths, weaknesses, step-by-step instructions, and case study examples. The result: a book you can rely on to address your strategic and business challenges--whatever your role, experience, industry, or environment. 

• Don’t just collect data--use it for competitive advantage
  Uncover correlations, assess trends, identify performance gaps, and identify your best opportunities
• Get truly actionable outputs from your analysis
  Perform future-oriented analysis that leads to better competitive strategies and tactics
• Use analysis to anticipate and adapt to rapid change
  Get early warnings of emerging threats--and respond more quickly

You can use business analysis to address your most crucial strategic and tactical challenges--without burying yourself in advanced math or arcane theory! This friendly guide walks you through the entire business analysis process and then explains each of today’s most valuable analysis tools--in plain English. You’ll be able to make better decisions and get better results--even if you’ve never been responsible for analysis before.

Babette Bensoussan and Craig Fleisher illuminate BCG matrix; Porter’s “Five Forces”; SWOT analysis; modern competitor, financial, issue, and value chain analysis; long-term scenario planning; emerging macroenvironmental (STEEP/PEST) techniques; and much more. You’ll find realistic case studies, in addition to practical guidance for choosing the right tools for each challenge. Even if you’ve never performed business analysis before, Analysis Without Paralysis can help you gain the insights and build the strategies for a winning future.

Online Sample Chapter

Business Management and the Role of Analysis in Making Strategic Decisions

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Table of Contents

Part I   Introduction  1

Chapter 1         Business Management and the Role of Analysis  3

Chapter 2         The Analysis Process  15

Part II Analysis Tools  27

Chapter 3         BCG Growth/Share Portfolio Matrix  29

Chapter 4         Competitor Analysis  49

Chapter 5         Financial Ratio and Statement Analysis  67

Chapter 6         Five Forces Industry Analysis  95

Chapter 7         Issue Analysis  111

Chapter 8         Political Risk Analysis  131

Chapter 9         Scenario Analysis  151

Chapter 10       Macroenvironmental (STEEP/PEST) Analysis  169

Chapter 11       SWOT Analysis  183

Chapter 12       Value Chain Analysis  199

Index 221