Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

Are you just playing—or playing to win ?

Strategy is not complex. But it is hard. It's hard because it forces people and organizations to make specific choices about their future—something that doesn't happen in most companies.

Now two of today's best-known business thinkers get to the heart of strategy—explaining what it's for, how to think about it, why you need it, and how to get it done. And they use one of the most successful corporate turnarounds of the past century, which they achieved together, to prove their point.

A.G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble, in close partnership with strategic adviser Roger Martin, doubled P&G's sales, quadrupled its profits, and increased its market value by more than $100 billion in just ten years. Now, drawn from their years of experience at P&G and the Rotman School of Management, where Martin is dean, this book shows how leaders in organizations of all sizes can guide everyday actions with larger strategic goals built around the clear, essential elements that determine business success— where to play and how to win .

The result is a playbook for winning. Lafley and Martin have created a set of five essential strategic choices that, when addressed in an integrated way, will move you ahead of your competitors. They are:

- What is our winning aspiration?
- Where will we play?
- How will we win?
- What capabilities must we have in place to win?
- What management systems are required to support our choices?

The stories of how P&G repeatedly won by applying this method to iconic brands such as Olay, Bounty, Gillette, Swiffer, and Febreze clearly illustrate how deciding on a strategic approach—and then making the right choices to support it—makes the difference between just playing the game and actually winning.

“One of the best books on Strategy is Roger Martin and A. G. Lafley's Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works ." — TIME magazine

“Winner – Thinkers50 Best Book Award 2012 and 2013." — Thinkers50 (thinkers50.com)

“ Playing to Win is a rare tale from the front lines of business and from two of its smartest minds." — Washington Post

“[ Playing to Win ]: How Strategy Really Works may be the best business and strategy book I've read since Michael Porter. There is plenty of practical advice, including the fact that business people often confuse a vision for a strategy. Instead, the authors claim “winning through distinctive choices is the always-and-forever job of every strategist." — Jonathan Becher, SAP via Forbes.com

Lafley and Martin have artfully combined two virtues that don't often mix: rigor and brevity. Winning strategy doesn't come from inspirational happy-talk; it comes from deeply substantive hard thinking, and they tell us how it's done, with many examples. The book is short, crisp, a pleasure to read. — Fortune

“I doubt there are two more intelligent business minds out there than Lafley and Martin. Playing to Win meets the high expectations raised by those two names, and is the best business book I've read so far this year." — Jack Covert, 800 CEO READ

“clear and effective" — WSJ.com (Wall Street Journal)

“Read their book. They, in turn, are sure to inspire you." — Forbes.com

"I hate CEO books...[but]...this book totally rocks. It's a beautiful manual...a triumph. — Tom Keene, Bloomberg TV

“This is a fascinating tale, featuring a cast of familiar brands, including Pampers, Tide and Olay, each of which went through a transformation under Mr. Lafley's eye." — The Economist

“this new offering by former Procter & Gamble CEO Lafley (coauthor of The Game-Changer ) and Martin (dean of the Rotman School of Management and author of Fixing the Game ) is a clear standout...This collection of insights and captivating examples about strategy is a must-read for leaders at any level in the for-profit or not-for-profit world." — Publishers Weekly

“Strategy lessons, 101... a manual for strategy practitioners." — Financial Times

“The many stories from one of the biggest consumer goods firms in the world, with its many successes (and some failures too) along with the framework of the strategy to win, make this an interesting read." — livemint.com

“a highly readable book that provides the reader with a very good understanding of the process and the real building blocks of value creation." — Ottawa Business Journal

“ Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works —written by an impressive duo: former Procter & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley and Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto Roger Martin—is not just an insiders' tale of the workings of a successful global corporation. It's the story of how you can do what top brands do: Create and execute stellar strategy well. Lots of books are published about business strategy, many of them either badly written or not relevant to associations, or both. This one is an exception." — Associations Now (ASAE: American Society of Association Executives)

“interesting and thought-provoking work on business strategy" — Business World

“The best practitioner-focused strategy book I have ever read, and all the more useful for the fact it is concise, well-structured and compelling, with almost no jargon." — Strategic Management Bureau

“Unlike many management texts, which read as if written for CEOs of multi-billion-dollar businesses, these tales from the fast-moving consumer goods front are useful for acquiring, extending or defending market share at any size of company." — The Deal : The Australian Business Magazine

“I wish this book had

Lafley and Martin have artfully combined two virtues that don't often mix: rigor and brevity. Winning strategy doesn't come from inspirational happy-talk; it comes from deeply substantive hard thinking, and they tell us how it's done, with many examples. The book is short, crisp, a pleasure to read. -- "Fortune" "I doubt there are two more intelligent business minds out there than Lafley and Martin. "Playing to Win" meets the high expectations raised by those two names, and is the best business book I've read so far this year." -- Jack Covert, 800 CEO READ "clear and effective" -- WSJ.com (Wall Street Journal) "Read their book. They, in turn, are sure to inspire you." -- Forbes.com "I hate CEO books...[but]...this book totally rocks. It's a beautiful manual...a triumph. -- Tom Keene, Bloomberg TV "This is a fascinating tale, featuring a cast of familiar brands, including Pampers, Tide and Olay, each of which went through a transformation under Mr. Lafley's eye." -- "The Economist" "this new offering by former Procter & Gamble CEO Lafley (coauthor of "The Game-Changer") and Martin (dean of the Rotman School of Management and author of "Fixing the Game") is a clear standout...This collection of insights and captivating examples about strategy is a must-read for leaders at any level in the for-profit or not-for-profit world." -- "Publishers Weekly" "Strategy lessons, 101... a manual for strategy practitioners." -- "Financial Times" "The many stories from one of the biggest consumer goods firms in the world, with its many successes (and some failures too) along with the framework of the strategy to win, make this an interesting read." -- livemint.com "a highly readable book that provides the reader with a very good understanding of the process and the real building blocks of value creation." -- "Ottawa Business Journal " ""Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works"--written by an impressive duo: forme