Strategy
/strategy306
Discussing strategy, in any area
>The development of a corporate strategy should amount to more than the aggregation of business unit strategies.
This is the first line from a McKinsey corporate strategy article from 2011 and I feel like I'm either losing my mind or seeing clearly. To me this is so backwards that I almost can't believe it's in print.
This is the first line from a McKinsey corporate strategy article from 2011 and I feel like I'm either losing my mind or seeing clearly. To me this is so backwards that I almost can't believe it's in print.
i just wrote about the strategic virtues of the small-TAM tech company — the kind that will never get VC funding but is nonetheless essential for robust real-world economies and the hoped-for widespread adoption of AI.
read here: https://uncertaintymindset.substack.com/p/sweetspot
tl;dr version: these small-TAM tech companies have
1. big but underserved markets
2. serious competitive moat from small TAM
3. can get big, but in sustainable not silly ways
read here: https://uncertaintymindset.substack.com/p/sweetspot
tl;dr version: these small-TAM tech companies have
1. big but underserved markets
2. serious competitive moat from small TAM
3. can get big, but in sustainable not silly ways
ramping up using idk decks for strategy training and capability development.
i designed idk as a tool for learning how to become more comfortable with uncertainty. these decks are headed for the innovation team of a global [redacted] corporation.
more info here: www.productivediscomfort.org
or drop me a note if you want to chat about idk and building org capacity for uncertainty...
i designed idk as a tool for learning how to become more comfortable with uncertainty. these decks are headed for the innovation team of a global [redacted] corporation.
more info here: www.productivediscomfort.org
or drop me a note if you want to chat about idk and building org capacity for uncertainty...
just ran a board workshop for a multinational insurance co on using scenarios for strategy
currently have so many thoughts on how the insurance business understands the difference between uncertainty and risk
(and also on how scenarios can be used in different ways for taking concrete nearterm strategy action)
currently have so many thoughts on how the insurance business understands the difference between uncertainty and risk
(and also on how scenarios can be used in different ways for taking concrete nearterm strategy action)
Maybe the easiest path to meaningfully improving competitive advantage is looking at what’s working in another industry and apply similar principles to your own.
Anyone else here into Machiavelli studies? I'm just starting Felix Raab's "The English Face of Machiavelli" and I wrote this to brainstorm research inquiries, e.g. how to derive an ethical tactics from Machiavelli's work.
https://www.clinamenic.com/canvas/Notes-on-an-Ethical-Hermeneutics-of-Machiavelli
https://www.clinamenic.com/canvas/Notes-on-an-Ethical-Hermeneutics-of-Machiavelli
i'm in reykjavik teaching a course on competitive strategy and it is frankly appalling how often strategic frameworks and strategic planning are mistaken for strategy 🫠
i may not agree with @bryanjohnson's longevity framing, but he's right that we're entering a time of unavoidable not-knowing. this is exactly why i spent the last 15 yrs working on strategies for uncertainty, and the last 4 years specifically on tools for dealing with not-knowing: https://vaughntan.org/notknowing
Last year, I did a lightning session for Miro's conference deal and a year later, I'm surprised & honored that 17 people have used this template. It's not many in the big scheme of things, but I wasn't expecting any.
Pretty wild. It would be rad if there was a way to get feedback from the folks that have copied it. https://miro.com/miroverse/better-bets-template/
Pretty wild. It would be rad if there was a way to get feedback from the folks that have copied it. https://miro.com/miroverse/better-bets-template/
Anyone here ever used Gartner reports and/or analysts for research?
Positives or negatives?
Positives or negatives?
a while back, i wrote about people whose function in an organisation is to move ideas from place to place: human mRNA
human mRNA is what keeps an organisation from crystallising into silos that don't talk to each other — they keep an organisation interesting and alive.
https://vaughntan.org/human-mrna
human mRNA is what keeps an organisation from crystallising into silos that don't talk to each other — they keep an organisation interesting and alive.
https://vaughntan.org/human-mrna
Amazing example of how technology makes us think of how the current can be done differently, but not about things that have just never been done before.
So much of getting something right is getting the level of detail right.
How deep do you dig? How much do you polish? When do you stop and when do you keep going? When to move on to the next chunk of work?
Gotta know what matters. Hold things loosely, be willing to come back to them — or leave them behind.
How deep do you dig? How much do you polish? When do you stop and when do you keep going? When to move on to the next chunk of work?
Gotta know what matters. Hold things loosely, be willing to come back to them — or leave them behind.
Strategy is as much about deciding what you want as it is about deciding how you’re going to get it. 
The insight and linked article are really good, amplified by the reply about demand generation vs demand capture. Classic case of managing what gets measured to the detriment of the whole. https://x.com/i_am_gkennedy/status/1817955893230870742
https://x.com/iamkawawong/status/1817977926941364631?s=46&t=hsxEnviB74VyrsVp6DZTxg
https://x.com/iamkawawong/status/1817977926941364631?s=46&t=hsxEnviB74VyrsVp6DZTxg
I harp on this to the point of frustrating some people. And it's worth it.
When you're not clear on the challenge, the solution gets fuzzy.
Strategy isn't simply thoughtfully planning what to do. If you get nothing else from strategy, get an understanding of the core (tenable) challenge so that you can focus energy where it matters and not get distracted by seemingly-relevant solutions.
When you're not clear on the challenge, the solution gets fuzzy.
Strategy isn't simply thoughtfully planning what to do. If you get nothing else from strategy, get an understanding of the core (tenable) challenge so that you can focus energy where it matters and not get distracted by seemingly-relevant solutions.
In startup (ie. underdog) GTM, you often want to pursue markets that aren’t getting any love from the incumbents — rather than fighting to extract high affinity users, you go after niches
You can see something similar here with China getting a more favorable opinion from middle-income countries vs. high-income
You can see something similar here with China getting a more favorable opinion from middle-income countries vs. high-income
One way to answer "Why?" is to come at the subject from as many angles & altitudes as possible:
Purpose: is the road designed to be fun? Safe? Fast? Economical? Does it go down, up, or both?
User: what do they need? What do they have to work with: a car, truck, trailer, bicycle, wheelchair, stroller?
Environment: what's the soil like? Will it rain or snow often?
Perspective: as it is, this looks pretty simple, but I imagine if you view it from the opposite angle, the terrain is more clear.
"What do they believe that makes this a good idea?" is usually more helpful than simply, "Why would they do that?"
Purpose: is the road designed to be fun? Safe? Fast? Economical? Does it go down, up, or both?
User: what do they need? What do they have to work with: a car, truck, trailer, bicycle, wheelchair, stroller?
Environment: what's the soil like? Will it rain or snow often?
Perspective: as it is, this looks pretty simple, but I imagine if you view it from the opposite angle, the terrain is more clear.
"What do they believe that makes this a good idea?" is usually more helpful than simply, "Why would they do that?"
What Counts as "Strategic", and why not just say "Profitable?"
When you hear the term "strategy," you should always be suspicious.
But over a long enough time period, every company is defined by the strategic choices it made, and by the ones it missed.
https://capitalgains.thediff.co/p/strategy
When you hear the term "strategy," you should always be suspicious.
But over a long enough time period, every company is defined by the strategic choices it made, and by the ones it missed.
https://capitalgains.thediff.co/p/strategy
It’s obvious, but I’ll say it anyway:
In a high information asymmetry situation, what looks like a really bad strategy can turn out to be a really good one.
Asking, “What do they know/believe/assume that I don’t?” might get you farther than pontificating why someone is dumb.
In a high information asymmetry situation, what looks like a really bad strategy can turn out to be a really good one.
Asking, “What do they know/believe/assume that I don’t?” might get you farther than pontificating why someone is dumb.
this week i wrote about /diy fabricating and installing built-in furniture in an apartment with no right angles or flat walls: https://uncertaintymindset.substack.com/p/sawdust-shavings
(there's also a bunch of links to essays on tradeoffs and strategy)
(there's also a bunch of links to essays on tradeoffs and strategy)
The game is simple. Harness the power of digital assets to develop cultural connections with a set of values.