Evan and a panel of guests from the worlds of civil engineering, hedge funds and investment discuss the art of staying ahead of the competition.
The ruthless former chief executive of General Electric, Jack Welch, often held up as a model of business leadership, pursued a strategy to establish each of GE's businesses as either number one or number two in the market. Without this approach, he believed the company's prospects would be bleak. Some companies will do anything to be big, even if it means cutting prices and making less money. Other businesses are happy to be smaller and more profitable. Which strategy wins?
The panel also discusses corporate claptrap. Silly jargon, faddish ideas and vacuous ideas - why is the business world so keen on nonsense?
Evan is joined in the studio by Deborah Meaden, entrepreneur and business investor; Keith Clarke, chief executive of FTSE 250 civil engineering and design consultancy Atkins; Hugh Hendry, hedge fund manager and co-founder of Eclectica Asset Management.
Explore this week's programme
Evan Davis on... market share
James Steidl | Dreamstime.com
Evan Davis looks at market share in different sectors; how can some companies get you for life whereas others struggle with consumer loyalty? Read more : Evan Davis on... market share
Leslie Budd on... the trade off
Anatoli Styf | Dreamstime.com
Leslie Budd examines the tenuous relationship between profitability and market share; too much of either can have serious consequences Read more : Leslie Budd on... the trade off
Leslie Budd on... jargon
Marco Rullkoetter | Dreamstime.com
Leslie Budd puts forward the case for using plain English in the business world Read more : Leslie Budd on... jargon
The fable of fraternity, fratricide and weasel-word wisdom
richardrichard under CC-BY-ND licence
Falling back on jargon provides comfort, but not much clarity, as markets attempt the trade-off between size and stability. Read more : The fable of fraternity, fratricide and weasel-word wisdom
Sharpen your skills
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Get to grips with the managerial challenges - get to know the Open University Business School. Read more : Sharpen your skills
The Bottom Line in more depth
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BBC
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Money & management experts
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The Bottom Line on BBC Radio 4
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The Bottom Line on BBC News
BBC
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Sharpen your skills
OU image library
Get to grips with the managerial challenges - get to know the Open University Business School. Read more : Sharpen your skills
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