Archive for the ‘Strategy’ Category

“No Strategy” is still a strategy – and in many cases, a valid one

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Strategy is fun to talk about, and thanks to the media, something that everyone has both heard of, and is an expert on. (I’m looking at you, Sun Tsu lovers – “If you stand by the river long enough, you’ll see yet another ‘Art Of War’ quote float by.”) However, not every enterprise has an articulated strategy. And not every enterprise needs one.

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What everybody ought to know about strategy

Sunday, July 29th, 2007

Four guidelines for identifying a great strategy:

1) For a strategy to create value, it will be different
2) That difference will matter to customers
3) Your strategy will be profitable
4) Your strategy will be sustainable

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The End of Industry

Wednesday, May 17th, 2006

Once every decade I am introduced to a new way of thinking that stands everything I “know” on its end. This happened to me on April 29, 2006, thanks to a lecture by David Teece which, in turn, warmed a cup of coffee I’ve been stirring since working as a research assistant for Ikujiro Nonaka at Berkeley in 1989.

Traditional strategy calls on the strategist to look at business in terms of industry and competitive advantage. There’s only one problem with this. Industries are ceasing to exist as we have come to know them. In other words, Industries are Plastic. (Which is the Future, for those of you who’ve not seen “The Graduate”.) (more…)