No Bullsh*t Strategy

Our definition of strategy From here on out, whenever we talk about strategy in this book, we’re going to be talking about this: The unique value a business provides to the market. That’s it. This is business in its purest, truest form. When all is said and done, a business is nothing more than a system designed to deliver value and receive value i

Generally the best-case scenario for a strategy we might encounter, is that it’s merely a harmless bundle of verbiage, that doesn’t get too much in the way of the “proper” running of the business. Considering all this, it’s little wonder that – by my conservative estimate – about 98% of businesses are getting by with no strategy at all (though this

Can you see how that simple insight, the identification of a need for such a kind of space, shaped everything that Starbucks did, and drove their stellar growth? And can you also see how clear, direct, and compelling it is? How you could describe it to anyone in the pub and they’d totally get it – let alone people in the Starbucks team? That’s a st

By drawing themselves in the direction of that unexpected category, brands profit on two counts: 1.They gradually differentiate themselves from their “obvious” category, and yet… 2.Will also never truly match their “new” category, and so will wind up in the uncontested market space we are seeking, just like this:

First, let’s look at the value side of the equation. The main way people screw this up is by confusing the value they provide with the product or service they make. If you ask someone what value their company delivers, they may respond with something like “we make cars”, or “we provide legal advice”, or “we run hotels”. None of these are “value”; t

your business, I’m sorry to tell you, “is what it is”. Once you’ve launched it, it takes on a mind of its own which is totally separate from your preferences as a founder. The market interprets it in a way that suits consumers’ needs and starts to pull it in that direction. You can’t drag it somewhere else. All you can do is get in line with what i

It wasn’t simply that Southwest decided to “add an offering” to their service – the way that many competitively minded businesses will when trying to steal a march on their enemies. No, what they did was far more powerful: they chose to abandon the popular market offering altogether, regardless of how “profitable” it supposedly was.

We’re trying to find unique characteristics of our business which have the potential to create open market space if we push them hard enough.

all strategically coherent businesses did it this way. They begin with an un-strategic “prototype” product or service, let it loose in the market for a while, watch to see how it evolves organically, and then get behind whatever direction it naturally drifts in.