If you get there first, you'll lead the pack, right? Not necessarily! The skill-sets of most established companies, say strategy experts Constantinos Markides and Paul Geroski, are far better suited to scaling up newly created markets pioneered by others (in other words, being "fast seconds") than to creating these markets from scratch.
Why Big, Established Companies Should Aim to Be "Fast Second" Rather Than Pioneers of Radically New Markets
If your organization aspires to "create" or conquer the new markets of the twenty-first century, Fast Second offers concrete advice on how to go about achieving this. Internationally acclaimed strategy experts Constantinos Markides and Paul Geroski explore:
"This is more than just an interesting new business book. It is a bold challenge of the pervasive conventional wisdom of building breakthrough, innovative capability as a foundation stone of competitive advantage. Through their strong and clear argument and their richly detailed examples, these leading strategic thinkers present a provocative set of ideas that no manager (or management teacher) can afford to ignore."
Christopher A. Bartlett, Thomas D. Casserly, Jr. Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
"Fast Second will force cutting-edge leaders of big, established companies to totally rethink radical innovation. Conquering radical new markets is about timing and a smart strategy for scaling them up, not creating them."
Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, Stanford W. Ascherman M.D. Professor, Stanford University, and coauthor, Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos