In 1993, Bain & Company launched a multiyear research project to gather facts about the use and performance of management tools. The objectives of this study are 1) to provide managers with an understanding of how their current application of these tools and subsequent results compare with those of other organizations across industries and around the globe; and 2) to provide the information they need to identify, select, implement and integrate the right tools to improve their company's performance. As part of this study, Bain creates a yearly guide to 25 of the most popular and pertinent management tools. This guide provides a description, methodology, common uses and selected references for each of the tools.