Strategy Creates Sustainable Advantage  One of the most
important elements of investment success is understanding
sustainable competitive advantage, which is rooted in company
strategy. One of the world's leading experts on strategy and
competitive advantage, Harvard Business School Professor Michael
Porter, is interviewed in a recent article investors should read
carefully.  Format for Printing  Format for printing  Request
Reprints   By Whitney Tilson March 6, 2001  If you could ask
only one question about a company before deciding whether to
invest in it, what would it be? How rapidly is it growing? How
good is management? How attractive is its industry? What is its
return on equity, or return on invested capital? What is its P/E
ratio? Are its shares at a 52-week low (or high)?  All of those
-- except the last one -- are good questions, but I believe they
are superceded by the following: "How strong is the company's
competitive advantage, and how sustainable is it?"   Powerful
competitive advantages -- ob