Your business model defines how you compete. It is the manifestation of your corporate strategy and the basis for your profitability. Given its importance, its surprising business models are not better understood. Business Model Generation seeks to address this point providing a comprehensive and engaging approach to understanding and creating business models.
This is perhaps the most innovative book on business design to come around in a long time. The book is the work of Alexander Osterwalder and more than 470 collaborators and contributors. It provides a graphically engaging, spirited look at business models, their creation and application in business.
This is the first book built by mass collaboration based on the participation and contribution of multiple people giving the book a level of practicality that is welcome in subject that can easily become academic. The book is organized into six sections that correspond to the processes involved in generating a business model. The sections include:
Canvas - which discusses the basics of the business model template and its nine building blocks
Patterns - applies the model to understand different business models and companies that exemplify the business models.
Design - the techniques used to develop the nine building blocks within the business model which include: customer insights, ideation, visual thinking, prototyping, storytelling and scenarios.
Process - concentrating on applying these techniques to creating a business model
Outlook - a view on the future of business models.
The book is highly recommended for people who want to learn more about business models, its related techniques and wants to put them into practice. The book's approach, its layout and treatment of the subject are refreshing and helpful.
Strengths
The book offers a comprehensive view of business models. The five sections talk you through the activities involved in creating a business model including multiple techniques.
Osterwalder's model for business models is clear and provides an effective structure for understanding your business and how it fits with your value proposition, strategy and products.
Placing the models in action to explain companies like Apple, the newspaper industry, and the insurance industry among others. Applying the model builds you understanding of model's context and
Covers advanced techniques including ideation, visual thinking, story telling that help you expand your toolkit.
The illustrations and use of photography creates an engaging read that draws the reader into material and keep them engaged.
Challenges
There is litle that is fundamentally new in this book, other than its presentation, construction and style. That is not to say that the book is bad or wrong, its just that ideas related to value propositions, capabilities, etc appear elsewhere. What this book does do and do well is bring these ideas together in a novel and accessible way.
The majority of the book is based on the Osterwalder's own model developed while he was at Lausanne. The dependence of the book on the model can limit its effectiveness if you take a different approach to business modeling.
The book provides limited support for key functions such as IT, HR and Finance which are not explicitly supported in the business model which focuses more on issues of strategy and positioning.
The book is large and bound by its narrow edge. While this makes the books photography and graphics possible, but it also makes the book unwieldy.
The book is not available in electronic format as that does not work with the book's layout.
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Reviews with images
I love the book but be careful about the quality. See photos
Some pages had their ink stain the next page. It’s not unreadable, nor that bad. But something to watch out for.Incredible toolkit though.
Top reviews from other countries
Rodrigo
Perfect book for entrepreneurs, students or just curious people
Reviewed in France on March 22, 2023