Monday, August 22, 2011

Ingredients for Strategy Pie

When you're developing your competitive strategy, it's important to make sure you have all the ingredients in the mix. Omitting one of them would be like putting your cake in the oven and then finding the requisite cup of sugar still on the counter (which is something that has actually happened to me).

Here's what you need to bake Strategy Pie:

Ingredients

Definition of your industry and market

Strategic assets, e.g core competencies

SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)

Environmental scan - global, national, local

Competitor analysis

Customer base, segmented

Method

Slice and dice the customer base to produce additional segments.

Layer the competitor analysis over the SWOT, so you can see how your strengths and weaknesses compare with those of your competitor.

Add all the other ingredients.

Leave to bubble in cauldron.

Shake and stir with questions.

Leaven with laughter.

Allow to rise.

Chill for a while.

Find the sweet spot where you can work in your strengths and create maximum value for your target market.

Bake.

Feel free to vary your method, but make sure you don't leave out any of the ingredients.

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