Strategy is a powerful tool for navigating current disruptions.
It allows us to better observe, understand, decide, and act in order to adapt and maintain focus on value creation.
Beyond our weekly podcasts, we also suggest articles and videos that have caught our attention. This week, here are six references that can help you rethink various elements of your strategy and your role as a decision-maker.
What We Are Reading
Strategy & Artificial Intelligence (Roger Martin, Medium, 2024)
Roger Martin discusses the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on business and strategy.
He is clear: AI will democratize knowledge. In this context, your sole lever for survival lies in creating a unique heuristic and an inimitable value proposition.
If you simply apply algorithms, you are no longer a strategist. You are an adjustment variable.
Is Strategy a Zero-Sum Game? Only if you Don’t Play to Win (Roger Martin, Medium, 2021)
How is the notion of “Playing to Win” crucial in any strategy formulation?
Martin emphasizes the importance of the value created by making choices that differ from the competition's. Remember, strategy is about making different choices regarding the customers served, the relative prices offered, the key activities to be performed, or the solution offered.
Focus on these choices to make your business model unique!
Collection of Thought Pieces on Learnings from Three Box Solution: Number 5 - Experiment to learn (Vijay Govindarajan, LinkedIn, 2021)
Experimentation allows us to validate the assumptions underlying innovation decisions.
In fact, derisking innovation notably involves validating the causality that generates the desired results. Vijay Govindarajan, author of the book Three Box Solution, shares a short, highly insightful article on LinkedIn.
“If you can predict, you understand which actions lead to positive outcomes, and which do not. You can make a sound judgment about whether a business is a winner or a loser. When you learn to predict as quickly as possible, you minimize time to profitability. You minimize risk."
Organizational Innovation Through Design - 3 keys for unlocking strategic advantage by adopting design tools (Stephanie Gioia, Medium, 2020)
Is it possible to build an organization where employees are a source of competitive advantage?
More than ever, this has become a necessity.
The article explains how Design Thinking, applied to organizational development, enables the creation of this advantage. A highly inspiring article.
What We Are Watching
Rita McGrath: Dynamic Strategy and the End of Competitive Advantage
Rita McGrath explains that lasting competitive advantage is ending because markets change fast.
Companies must keep innovating and adapting to succeed. Leaders should focus on learning, flexibility, and new business models to thrive.
Dive into this highly instructive presentation on competitive arenas and the continuous reconfiguration of competitive advantages.
Michael Porter: Aligning Strategy & Project Management
Michael Porter discusses the importance of aligning strategy with project management to achieve business success.
Understanding the company's overall strategy is crucial for delivering value and competitive advantage. Strategic thinking involves making unique choices to succeed in the industry.
As he mentions:
“The idea that there's one way to compete in any business is just simply not true (...) The essence of strategy is not about being the best; it's about how we are unique, how we can deliver some unique value to the customer we are trying to serve.”
An essential reminder!
Key Questions
To follow up on these readings and videos, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is your strategy architecture unique and robust in the face of market dynamics?
- Does your execution capability allow you to quickly validate critical hypotheses?
To transform reflection into measurable results, you need to answer "Yes, it is unique, and we constantly validate it" to these two questions.
Have a great week,
Eric L'Heureux
P.S. Do you want to strengthen your competitive advantage?
Contact us to structure your next strategy review to increase the robustness of your decisions and your agile execution.