Every business faces the existential threat of competitors producing cheaper copies. Even patent filings, market dominance and financial resources can't shield them from copycats. So what can we do -- and, what can we learn from companies that have endured and even prospered for centuries despite copycat competition?

In a book of narrative history and practical strategy, IMD professor of management and innovation Howard Yu shows that succeeding in today's marketplace is no longer just a matter of mastering copycat tactics, companies also need to leap across knowledge disciplines, and to reimagine how a product is made or a service is delivered. This proven tactic can protect a company from being overtaken by new (and often foreign) copycat competitors.

Using riveting case studies of successful leaps and tragic falls, Yu illustrates five principles to success that span a wide range of industries, countries, and eras. Learn about how P&G in the 19th century made the leap from handcrafted soaps and candles to mass production of its signature brand Ivory, leaped into the new fields of consumer psychology and advertising, then leaped again, at the risk of cannibalizing its core product, into synthetic detergents and won with Tide in 1946. Learn about how Novartis and other pharma pioneers stayed ahead by making leaps from chemistry to microbiology to genomics in drug discovery; and how forward-thinking companies, including China's largest social media app -- WeChat, Tokyo-based Internet service provider Recruit Holdings, and Illinois-headquartered John Deere are leaping ahead by leveraging the emergence of ubiquitous connectivity, the inexorable rise of intelligent machines, and the rising importance of managerial creativity.

Outlasting competition is difficult; doing so over decades or a century is nearly impossible -- unless one leaps. Ultimately, Leap is a manifesto for how pioneering companies can endure and prosper in a world of constant change and inevitable copycats.

Every business faces the existential threat of competitors producing cheaper copies. Even patent filings, market dominance and financial resources can't shield them from copycats. So what can we do -- and, what can we learn from companies that have endured and even prospered for centuries despite copycat competition?

In today’s competitive environment where latecomers can replicate almost any product or service for less, and where intuition and market intelligence have been overtaken by machine algorithms, companies can no longer just be very good at what they do. The need to leap to new knowledge disciplines. The best leap repeatedly. And it’s the combination of two skills – mastery of the old and new – that empowers them with the best competitive advantage.
 
To discover how some companies not only survive but thrive for centuries, strategy expert Howard Yu identifies key trends from business history, skillfully extracting timeless lessons and applying them to today. He illustrates how managers can look to leverage technological shifts, increasingly ubiquitous connectivity, smart machines, and managerial creativity – in order to leap forward. Ultimately, Leap is a playbook for the future that shows how pioneering players can thrive by rethinking their business, their relationships with customers, and the very reasons they exist.