The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
By Donald Mitchell and Carol Coles

A Distilled MBA Course
The Harvard Method—Case Studies and More

     I am always searching for references that help with different aspects of my freelance writing. The Ultimate Competitive Advantage by Donald Mitchell and Carol Coles is an unexpected treasure. I sometimes write for the retail industry, and I knew that this would be a business book not particularly tailored to that trade. As it turned out, it is more valuable to me than if it were focused specifically on my needs.

      This is the way it will benefit readers across the board: using case studies the tried and true MBA way, it offers more because it cuts such a broad swath across the fabric of the business world. There will probably not be an example or model presented that can not be adapted to any business, large or small, from manufacturing to retail.

     This is a book that talks about customer value and reducing the cost of service like many good business books might. Unlike some, this one takes the reader from principles to adapting those principles to the business-at-hand—whatever that might be. These authors use all the right words—profit, benefits, innovation; the difference is that when a reader finishes this book, he’ll walk away with some concrete ideas adapted to fit one’s individual needs.