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Business Strategy

Where do you have the greatest potential to provide a compelling point of difference?

Strategy is an integrated set of choices that ensure a unique point of difference that provides clear value proposition and competitive advantage to a clearly defined marketplace. Your business strategy document must include:

  1. A coherent theory about why you are targeting a particular space
  2. A clear explanation of how you'll provide customers a compelling point of difference
  3. An outcome-focused approach that specifies quantifiable results that prove success
Mantra

Culture eats strategy for breakfast

Strategic Intent​

Your strategy must have a hypothesis that links decisions to predictions on how you intend to maximize your potential.

  • How do you want to play the game? (Spirit and Desire)
  • What is your appetite for risk?
  • How big is the market for that?
  • Do you have the capability to execute??
  • Do you have the management systems to support?
  • Why will this strategy work?
  • How much are you willing to bet?

Subject Expertise​

Use First Principles to understand what every component does to impact, how value created, distributed and appreciated by the end customer.

  • Imagining the Critical Path to Success
  • Benchmarking and Continuous Improvement
  • Leadership in Navigating Change
  • Community Focused Culture for Growth
  • Experiment Driven Innovation
  • Acquisition and Integration Strategies

Context​

Strategic Choices​

How is the game changing? What do you need to do about it?

Strategic Review.

Time Horizon​

Embrace a long-term vision, with long-term people.

Prioritize Operational Flexibility​

  • Build scenario-based planning models that account for rapid policy shifts and tariff changes
  • Develop multiple supply chain configurations that can be activated under different trade regimes
  • Create financial buffers to weather short-term disruptions while longer-term strategies develop

Supply Chain Reconfiguration​

  • Conduct comprehensive supply chain vulnerability assessments focusing on geopolitical exposure
  • Consider friend-shoring rather than complete reshoring where domestic capacity is limited
  • Develop redundant supplier relationships across multiple geographies to reduce single-point dependencies

Capital Allocation Strategy​

  • Implement staged capital deployment approaches that preserve optionality
  • Prioritize investments with shorter payback periods during periods of high policy uncertainty
  • Consider holding higher cash reserves until policy direction becomes clearer

Workforce Development​

  • Invest in AI Augmentation where labour shortages are likely to persist
  • Develop internal training programs to address skills gaps rather than relying on external hiring
  • Create partnerships with educational institutions to build talent pipelines for critical roles

Government Relations​

  • Establish robust government affairs capabilities to monitor policy developments
  • Build coalitions with industry peers to advocate for policy predictability
  • Develop relationships with officials across political spectrum to ensure continuity

Communication Strategy​

  • Maintain transparent communication with investors about how policy uncertainty affects planning
  • Clearly articulate contingency plans to stakeholders
  • Frame strategic patience as prudent rather than indecisive

Implementation Planning​

Consistency and predictability are essential ingredients for effective planning. Leaders need to focus on building resilient systems that can adapt to changing conditions while maintaining a clear long-term vision that transcends short-term political cycles.

Planning, in contrast to strategy, is a list of activities or resources a company intends to deploy:

  • Typically focuses on costs and inputs (hiring people, building facilities, launching products)
  • Lacks internal coherence between different departmental wishes
  • Feels comfortable because you control these elements
  • Doesn't specify how these activities collectively achieve competitive advantage

Customer Success​

Focus on customer success and creating flywheels of goodwill to guide long-term direction for competitive positioning of products, markets, and partnerships. It outlines how the company plans to achieve its goals and outperform competitors.

  1. Prioritize direct customer feedback on user experience (feel the pain)
  2. Stay closely connected to customer needs, which can rapidly change in volatile environments.
  3. Maintain hands-on approach in product development and key decisions
  4. Stay deeply involved in operations, not just high-level strategy
  5. Flat hierarchy with cross-functional teams for special projects
  6. Trust your instincts and vision over conventional management advice
  7. Set clear expectations to challenge and replace underperforming employees
  8. Be prepared to pivot based on customer feedback and market trends.

Risk Management​

  • Identify potential risks and vulnerabilities in your current business model.
  • Develop strategies to mitigate these risks and to thrive in volatile conditions.
  • Consider stress testing your business under various scenarios to identify weak points.

Diversification and Adaptability​

  • Diversify products, services, and markets to reduce dependency on a single revenue stream.
  • Create a culture of adaptability where change is expected and embraced.
  • Invest in continuous learning and development to stay ahead of industry trends and shifts.

Leverage Technology​

  • Implement technologies that enhance flexibility and scalability, such as cloud computing and AI.
  • Ensure that your tech stack is adaptable and can integrate new technologies as they emerge.

Supply Chain Resilience​

  • Develop a supply chain that is resilient to disruptions through diversification.
  • Embrace technologies and practices that enhance supply chain visibility and agility.

Cash Flow​

  • Financial Prudence and Strong Cash Reserves
  • Maintain a strong balance sheet with sufficient liquidity to weather unforeseen events.
  • Avoid over-leveraging and have contingency plans for financial crises.

Innovation​

  • Formula for betting on experiments to discover breakthroughs that fuel growth.
  • Encourage innovation as a core value within your organization.
  • Adopt a 'test and learn' approach to business decisions, allowing for experimentation and learning from failures.

Compliance​

Legal and Regulatory

  • Ensure that your business model is compliant with current laws and adaptable to potential regulatory changes.
  • Monitor changes in the legal landscape that could impact your business.

Timing​

  • Is it time to expand (Attack/Experiment) or contract (Consolidate/Study)?
  • Innovate or Adapt?

Balanced Scorecard​

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a comprehensive strategic management system that helps organizations translate their vision and strategy into measurable objectives and actions.

  • Financial Performance Tracks traditional financial metrics like profitability, return on investment, and operating costs to measure shareholder value.
  • Customer Focus Evaluates customer satisfaction, retention, and service quality to understand how customers perceive the organization.
  • Internal Processes Examines operational efficiency, quality control, and process improvements needed to excel at delivering value.
  • Learning and Growth Assesses employee capabilities, information systems, and organizational culture to support continuous improvement.

Advantages​

The balanced scorecard provides several strategic advantages:

  • Creates a holistic view by combining financial and non-financial metrics
  • Forces managers to consider tradeoffs between different performance areas
  • Helps communicate strategic priorities throughout the organization
  • Connects day-to-day activities to long-term strategic goals

Strategic Failures​

  • Insufficient leverage to control speed and direction.
  • Don't understand cost, time and quality
  • Too many goals, not enough focus
  • Ill-informed decisions
  • Insufficient belief in the story

Steering the Ship​

The fundamental challenge with strategy is that it requires committing to outcomes you don't directly control. While you control your costs and resources, you don't control whether customers will choose your offering over competitors. This creates natural discomfort and angst that many managers avoid. Escaping the Planning Trap to develop real strategy:

  1. Clearly articulate your strategic logic - what must be true for it to work
  2. Keep it simple - ideally on a single page
  3. Watch how reality unfolds and be ready to refine your approach
tip

Your strategy gives you the best possible chance of leaving a thriving legacy