William Joyce, Nitin Nohria and Bruce Roberson surveyed hundreds of companies over a period of ten years and have distilled those findings into an accessible blueprint of what works for the most successful of businesses. Companies that were considered winners followed successful practice in four specific areas - strategy, execution, culture and structure - and a mix of two secondary areas - talent, leadership, mergers and partnerships.

To succeed they concluded required making all six areas work at the same time. The numbers bear out their theory over that ten-year period: when a company followed the “4+2” blueprint, it was more than 90 percent more likely to wind up a winner. A very helpful table format is used to showcase the summaries of the study’s findings.

If you have your own company or plan to one day, read this book and consider the points put forth that are backed by thorough research. It may make the difference in your company being a winner or a loser.