Playing to Win - 5 Great Choices of Strategy
Playing to win is one of the best books on strategy I have read. It is written by Roger Martin who was Rotman School of Business Dean (He was also voted as the number one thinker for 2017 by Thinkers50), and the former CEO of Proctor and Gamble, A.G. Lafley. Roger Martin’s recent book is Creating great choices which is also a delightful book on thinking.
Strategy was made famous by the redoubtable Michael Porter who said that “strategy is all about creating a competitive advantage over your rivals by deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver unique value.”
The authors in the introduction talk about how ineffective leaders think about strategy:
1. They define strategy as a vision.
2. They define strategy as a plan.
3. They deny that long-term strategy is possible.
4. They define strategy as the optimization of the status quo.
5. They define strategy as following best practices.
The book is based on five choices which every firm needs to make to win in the market place. Here is a brief description of the five choices.
A winning aspiration - Lets take Nike and their winning aspiration is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. (If you have a body, you’re an athlete.)” Starbucks: To inspire and nurture the human spirit -one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time. McDonalds: Be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat. So, the first step on the way to winning is to create winning aspiration for your organization.
Where to play – These are the areas you need to think of where to play. One of the areas is geography that is which regions you want your organization to compete in. Next is to decide what products you want to offer. Another is to decide what customers do you want to target.
How to win – The authors suggest there are two ways to win one is low cost strategy and another is differentiation. So, provide the least cost with excellent quality or differentiate yourself by providing something unique.
Core capabilities – You must decide what the core capabilities of your organization is. For example, Amazon focuses on low prices, and fast delivery. There is also a mention about activity system made famous by Michael Porter. He used it to show how Southwest Airlines was an enormous success due to its robust strategy. Basically, it is a diagnostic tool to identify your organization’s competitive advantage.
Management systems – This is the stage where systems are put in place to enable the core capabilities defined. Brand building was one of the keys for P&G. They created a brand building framework. Each organization is different that’s why everything is based on the winning aspiration you define for your organization.
There you have it all the keys you need to win with your organization. I found this book to be useful and engaging. Thanks for reading this post.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
Strategy was made famous by the redoubtable Michael Porter who said that “strategy is all about creating a competitive advantage over your rivals by deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver unique value.”
The authors in the introduction talk about how ineffective leaders think about strategy:
1. They define strategy as a vision.
2. They define strategy as a plan.
3. They deny that long-term strategy is possible.
4. They define strategy as the optimization of the status quo.
5. They define strategy as following best practices.
The book is based on five choices which every firm needs to make to win in the market place. Here is a brief description of the five choices.
A winning aspiration - Lets take Nike and their winning aspiration is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. (If you have a body, you’re an athlete.)” Starbucks: To inspire and nurture the human spirit -one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time. McDonalds: Be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat. So, the first step on the way to winning is to create winning aspiration for your organization.
Where to play – These are the areas you need to think of where to play. One of the areas is geography that is which regions you want your organization to compete in. Next is to decide what products you want to offer. Another is to decide what customers do you want to target.
How to win – The authors suggest there are two ways to win one is low cost strategy and another is differentiation. So, provide the least cost with excellent quality or differentiate yourself by providing something unique.
Core capabilities – You must decide what the core capabilities of your organization is. For example, Amazon focuses on low prices, and fast delivery. There is also a mention about activity system made famous by Michael Porter. He used it to show how Southwest Airlines was an enormous success due to its robust strategy. Basically, it is a diagnostic tool to identify your organization’s competitive advantage.
Management systems – This is the stage where systems are put in place to enable the core capabilities defined. Brand building was one of the keys for P&G. They created a brand building framework. Each organization is different that’s why everything is based on the winning aspiration you define for your organization.
There you have it all the keys you need to win with your organization. I found this book to be useful and engaging. Thanks for reading this post.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
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