Every industry has had outliers that deliver superior performance over the long run, despite facing the same constraints as competitors. Drawing on Deloitte's insights of almost 25,000 companies spanning 45 years, the authors identified 394 companies that are true long-term standouts in every kind of industry--medical devices, trucking, semiconductors, even discount stores. In collaboration with teams of researchers, Raynor and Ahmed then put a carefully chosen representative sample of twenty-seven companies under the microscope to uncover what made the stand-out performers different. They found that exceptional companies, when faced with difficult decisions, follow three rules: 1) Better before cheaper. They rarely compete on price. 2) Revenue before cost. They drive profits through price and volume, not thrift. 3) There are no other rules. Everything else is up for grabs, and they are willing to change anything to remain true to the first two rules. The rules provide an indispensable compass that any company can use to chart its own path to greatness--the right answer to just about any question is the one most closely aligned with the rules. --From dust jacket.