in Leadership, Strategy
Cynthia Montgomery, Professor of Strategy at Harvard University, asks her students what terms come to mind when they hear the word “strategy.” This word cloud illustrates their typical responses, which tellingly lack the word “leader.”
Why is that? More of the same leads to more of the same.…
in Innovation, Strategy
There are 2 kinds of warfare: asymmetrical and stupid. —DR. CONRAD CRANE, DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. ARMY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND AUTHOR OF THE U.S. ARMY/MARINE CORPS COUNTERINSURGENCY FIELD MANUAL
I have a client who competes with Starbucks. Or at least that is what they think. I don’t think they do because they have no argument to win. What is Starbucks good at? There are other factors at play, but these are the main ones: They fill the middle between your home and work, and they are also known for making good enough coffee.
These are not attributes where my client can make a confident argument that they can win. And my client can’t just turn itself into a roaster. And it shouldn’t.
So what to do? The answer is simple but difficult: You do what the other guy can’t or won’t.…
in Strategy
I’m a sucker for strategy books. So as I’ve been reading Good Strategy Bad Strategy, I’ve taken some notes I want to share with you about a very important topic: Competitive Advantage.
Competitive advantage is different today than it was in the industrial era, but these five basic principles still apply:…
Via Quora: What can you change in a business that is strong enough to differentiate the business from all competitors, but without touching the product itself?
For example,
These are significant differences that not only differentiate the companies from all the others, but disrupted the market in some way.
What other variables can you change in a business in this way?
How are these variables called?
Where can I learn more about this?…
If you like these links, check out all the previous “Innovation Must Reads of the Week“. And don’t forget to Follow @jorgebarba
in Leadership, Strategy
Last week I discussed the importance of leading through questions. Since that post got some good traction, I decided to put together these six questions that I found scattered throughout the book “The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs“. If you haven’t read it, read it!
In my opinion, every business leader and strategist must own these six questions below:…
in Innovation, Strategy
Going against the grain can be a prerequisite for innovation. And in a time when internet companies show no commitment to customer service, there are a few who are making an attempt to do so.
Yesterday, I discovered Pulse. The app that lets us read our news in a very “eye candy” way. I started using it for a few minutes and decided that it was enough for me to switch:…
