Tag Archives: Strategy

Must read innovation stories of the week: Mental models determine business models

in Must reads of the week

Much like humans have mental models that determine their beliefs about how the world works, businesses have business models that do the same. And, just how us humans get stuck in our own thoughts if we don’t feed ourselves new experiences, business models become irrelevant when they don’t evolve.

, and this means you have to start with the culture in your organization and how they view the world. You need to work on questioning the assumptions your culture has about how the world works, so it can start thinking about how it can work better for you.

. Want a new business model? Check your mental model first.

Weekend innovation tip: Outthink opponents like Peyton Manning

in competition, Creativity, Innovation, Innovation tips, Strategy

Ah yes, the Super Bowl is here and we have one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game playing in it: Peyton Manning.

He operates a no huddle offense that relies on reading the defense and making adjustments before the snap. This helps create confusion for the defense, so they don’t really know what’s coming at them. What makes all this possible is his great use of the , which stands for observe, orient, decide, and act.

This happens so fast, that opposing defenses have a hard time making a play on him. Because the ball leaves his hands so fast, that they’re left guessing where he might throw the ball. This enabled him to be sacked only 10 times this season!

What this means, is that he had more opportunities to throw the ball to his receivers for plays.…

Strategy: Keep the ball moving

in competition, Strategy

I’m a basketball junkie so I was delighted to read Fast Company’s excellent which examines how Nash runs his work life outside of basketball, just like the Suns offense, in constant chaos. Nash runs THE most unorthodox offense in the NBA, which is unplanned, unpredictable and all on the fly.

 

No one better embodies the metabolism of our times, when industries, technologies, and careers are in constant flux. In leading Phoenix to the league’s best record to start this season and, most likely, to a return to the play-offs, Nash demonstrates how to navigate uncertainty — with flexibility, collaboration, and inventiveness. He has developed a gift for finding order in chaos. He adapts to new information, assesses the risks, and creates opportunities for him and his teammates to succeed. Nash improvises.

We all need to be improvisers now, to transition between the jobs we have and the backup plans we may need to pursue in the current economic crisis. Between the ways we’re accustomed to working and the new habits shaped by Twitter, Facebook, and other new tech tools. Between the recession and the postrecession world.

Both on and off the court, Nash’s exploits illuminate lessons about how to manage these transitions.

 

Why you should you read it? Very simple…because he improvises strategy on the fly and that is how companies business strategy should be developed. Learn from Steve Nash, stay ahead of the game by keeping the ball moving.

STRATEGY: Exchange the role of guest for host

in Career, competition, Strategy, Wisdom

cobra

 

Look beyond the immediate battle and build on a position of weakness to take control.

 

I was watching my favorite childhood cartoon movie, GI Joe, yesterday and was reminded of a very powerful strategy that the terrorist organization Cobra uses in most of the cartoons that can be applied in business. If you’re not familiar with GI Joe, Cobra Commander is the leader of the terrorist group know as Cobra and Destro is his 2nd in command (both are in the picture above) but in the movie Destro is the commander while Cobra Commander is the brains behind the weapons they’ll use to takeover the world.

The MARS (aka Cobra) organization is the world’s largest supplier of weapons and Destro is it’s CEO. Cobra Commander takes an inferior position by being able to use Destro’s resources to build a technologically advanced terrorist organization that is of his own making.

This is important to know because Cobra Commander is really just waiting in the wings for Destro’s downfall to take over. Up to this point every weapon Destro’s MARS organization has was designed by Cobra Commander himself and as any good strategist has been influencing every decision the organization has taken before he takes power.

When he finally takes power nothing really changes since he’s planned all of this from the beginning to be this way.

 

This strategy is called ‘’.

 

This is a very powerful strategy because you start by seeming weaker than the person or business you are trying to take, but in doing so you build on a position of weakness to take control. It’s a deceptive strategy but when well executed opens up a lot of options for you because in reality you are the one in control when giving it up.

 

Microsoft was born from taking a subordinate position to IBM.

 

Why this is important to you.

Because you want something and there’s always going to be obstacles standing in your way and most of the time you lack the patience to see the bigger picture. Your natural instincts will tell you to focus on the present and the faster you can get what you want the better, instead look at the big picture and see how taking an inferior position right now can benefit you in the long run by using others resources to your benefit.

 

There are endless applications of this devastating strategy, have you used this strategy before?

What is strategy? Part deux

in Strategy

what is strategy

“Anyone can plan a campaign, but few are capable of waging war, because only a true military genius can handle the developments and circumstances.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

There’s was a last week, and I thought I put some more thought into it and clarify my point of view that strategy does require planning, but only to prepare your mind.

? I’ve talked about this before and defined strategy as:

The essence of strategy is not to carry out a brilliant plan that proceeds in steps; it is to put yourself in situations where you have more options than everyone else. Instead of going for A as the single right answer, true strategy is positioning yourself to be able to do A, B or C depending on the situation.…

Must read innovation stories of the week: Can a successful innovation be predicted? Yes

in Must reads of the week

Ronin release

According to Phil Koos, by being aware of changing consumer needs innovation can be predicted.

War, Inc. video My Beautiful Laundrette move

 

Great innovation builds on what comes before it and does not require people to make radical changes in beliefs or behavior. What often looks like breakthrough innovation is actually a small advance or twist on an established idea. That the change is evolutionary, however, doesn’t keep its impact from being revolutionary. Monitoring market evolution across the globe over time reveals patterns consistent across categories and markets. Consumer needs evolve in predictable ways. There are waves of successful mass-market innovation that mirror a natural evolution in consumer needs.

 

 

The Assassination of Richard Nixon film

Body Armour trailer