This is a book-length executive summary of Porter's core concepts. Competitive advantage. The value chain. Five forces. Industry structure. Differentiation. Relative cost. If you want to understand how companies achieve and sustain competitive success, Michael Porter's frameworks are the foundation. But while everyone in business knows Porter's name, his writing can be daunting. As a result, many managers misunderstand and misuse his concepts. "Understanding Michael Porter" sets the record straight, providing the first concise, accessible summary of Porter's revolutionary thinking. Written with Porter's full cooperation by Joan Magretta, former editor at "Harvard Business Review", this new book delivers fresh, clear examples to illustrate and update Porter's ideas. Magretta uses her wide business experience to translate Michael Porter's powerful insights into practice and to correct the most common misconceptions about them - for instance, that competition is about being unique, not being the best; that it is a contest over profits, not a battle between rivals; that strategy is about choosing to make some customers unhappy, not being all things to all customers. An added feature is an original Q&A with Porter himself, which includes answers to managers' FAQs. Eminently readable, this book will enable every manager in your organization to grasp Porter's ideas - and swiftly deploy them to drive your company's success.

琼•马格丽塔（Joan Magretta），管理咨询师和作家，《哈佛商业评论》麦肯锡奖获得者，与迈克尔•波特共事20年之久。曾经是著名的贝恩国际管理咨询公司的合伙人，也是《哈佛商业评论》的优秀撰稿人，并在20世纪90年代担任该杂志的高级战略编辑。

2002年出版《什么是管理》一书，获得波特、德鲁克等人一致好评，并被评为《商业周刊》、《经济学家》年度最佳商业图书，被一些管理专家学者称为管理的“圣经”。