Strategy

1. How does this idea or action affect the business?
2. How does this idea or action add value?
3. Will this idea minimize risk while maximizing profit or streamlining processes?
4. Will current contracts or products need to be phased out?
5. How does this idea or action effect the bottom line? Can this be demonstrated?

https://www.isc.hbs.edu/strategy/creating-a-successful-strategy/pages/unique-value-proposition.aspx

• Value chain focuses internally on operations
• Value proposition is the element of strategy that looks outward at customers, at the demand side of the business

https://hbr.org/2019/04/5-myths-about-strategy

• It is precisely when long-held assumptions about an industry are challenged that strategic changes happen.
• Strategy is not about the long term or the short term, but about the fundamentals of how the business works:
  • Sources of value creation
  • Drivers of the cost to deliver it
  • Basis of competition
• Strategy is about what we are going to do now in order to shape the future to our advantage.

Competition

• Low end, other start-ups may be launching their own version of your product or service and trying to achieve scale in the market before you.
• High end, established brands are figuring out how to leverage their own assets to own part or all of your space

Blitzscaling

https://hbr.org/2016/04/blitzscaling

• Blitzscaling is what you do when you need to grow really, really quickly.
• Software has a natural affinity with blitzscaling, because the marginal costs of serving any size market are virtually zero.
• Blitzkrieg is you carried only what is absolutely needed so that you could move very, very fast, surprise your enemies, and win.
• Three kinds of scale:
  • Growing revenue
  • Growing customer base
  • Scaling the organization

https://www.valuer.ai/blog/blitzscaling-the-ultimate-guide-to-startup-growth-and-scaling

Industry Lifecycle

https://strategyforexecs.com/industry-life-cycle/

Emergence Phase -> "Annealing" -> Growth Phase -> "shakeout" -> Mature Phase

Disruptive Innovation

Disruption Can Be Low-End or New-Market

Disruption can come in different varieties: Low-end disruption and new-market disruption.

Low-end disruption refers to businesses that come in at the bottom of the market and serve customers in a way that is "good enough." These are generally the lower profit markets for the incumbent and thus, when these new businesses enter, the incumbents move further "upstream." In other words, they put their focus on where the greater profit margins are.

New-market disruption refers to businesses that compete against non-consumption in lower margin sectors of an industry. Similar to low-end disruption, the products offered are generally seen as "good enough," and the emerging business is profitable at these lower prices.

Cost Structure

http://www.ecommerce-digest.com/cost-structure.html

• Cost Driven - Focuses on minimizing costs. Low price value proposition, maximum automation, outsourcing
• Value Driven - Focuses on premium proposition. Personalized solution.

Characteristics

• Fixed Costs
• Variable Costs
• Economies of Scale
• Exconomies of Scope

Structuring Programmes

1. Policies
2. Standards
3. Guidelines
4. Procedures
5. Baselines

Operating Gaps - Things you currently do not do well. Strategic Gaps - Things you need to to in the future to successfully implement your strategies.

Playbook

Purpose

• Determine goals
• Create activities list
• Use 80 / 20 where 20 % of the effort solves 80% of the problem
• Break down large task
• Say NO to non-essential task

Priority

People

Productivity

Mindset