{"id":368,"date":"2024-06-25T21:42:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T01:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=368"},"modified":"2024-08-20T09:21:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T13:21:08","slug":"strategy-positioning","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/knowledge-base\/strategy-positioning\/","title":{"rendered":"Strategy &amp; positioning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>What is strategy?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How is strategy different at a startup and a bigger company, if at all?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does strategy matter for a startup?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are common ways of thinking about strategy?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are some indications we\u2019ve found a good strategy?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How often should we update our strategy?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Should the CEO own strategy at a startup?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is company and product positioning?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What types of experiments can help inform positioning?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How will we know if we\u2019ve found a good positioning?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What\u2019s a good way to capture and communicate our positioning?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What if people are getting confused about our positioning?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Worksheets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/files\/2024\/08\/Startup_positioning_worksheet.docx\" data-type=\"attachment\" data-id=\"510\">Startup Positioning Worksheet<\/a> (MS Doc)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hubspot: <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/3290611\/Resources\/GS%20-%20Positioning%20Worksheet%20v1.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/3290611\/Resources\/GS%20-%20Positioning%20Worksheet%20v1.pdf\">Positioning Worksheet<\/a> (PDF)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Start Here<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Steve Blank: <a href=\"https:\/\/thinkgrowth.org\/strategy-first-then-relentless-tactical-execution-b5f24df79b37\">Strategy First. Then Relentless Tactical Execution<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(8 min read.) Steve looks back on his early days as VP of marketing at SuperMac, using this experience to offer insights into strategy and execution. As he points out, putting together a strategy may take a few months, but executing it properly could take years. Steve explains that strategy points entrepreneurs to the goal, while relentless tactical execution gets them there. He suggests keeping tactics simple and focused and managing execution at the highest level.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lenny Rachitsky: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lennysnewsletter.com\/p\/positioning\">A Quickstart Guide to Positioning<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(15 min read.) Lenny discusses the critical role of effective positioning in a startup&#8217;s success with the example of April Dunford, the author of the best-selling book \u201cObviously Awesome\u201d. He outlines how clear and compelling positioning helps define a company&#8217;s identity and differentiates it from competitors. The article provides actionable advice on crafting a positioning statement that resonates with target customers, aligns with the company\u2019s mission, and highlights unique value propositions. By focusing on how to articulate the startup\u2019s purpose and benefits clearly, the piece aims to help founders establish a strong market presence and drive growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alfred Lin: <a href=\"https:\/\/outlierspath.com\/2024\/06\/02\/pricing-strategy-and-cost-advantages\/\">Pricing Strategy &amp; Cost Advantages<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(2 min read.) Lin discusses the intricacies of pricing and packaging in board meetings, emphasizing their impact on profit margins. He criticizes the common approach of setting prices based on past experiences at different companies or limited customer anecdotes. Lin highlights the necessity of data on customer willingness to pay and market elasticity to form an effective pricing strategy. He also addresses cost advantages, noting that understanding costs is crucial for sustainable pricing. Historical examples show that companies with a sustained cost advantage can afford to lower prices or reinvest in product development to expand their market reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Myk Pono: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mykpono.com\/strategic-communication-how-to-develop-strategic-messaging-and-positioning\/\">Strategic Communication: How to Develop Strategic Messaging and Positioning<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(35 min read.) In this article, Pono underscores the importance of strategic messaging and positioning for tech companies. He emphasizes that classical marketing principles are still applicable and crucial for effectively communicating a company&#8217;s vision and product value. The article provides a detailed methodology for crafting strategic messaging that resonates with both internal stakeholders and the target market, emphasizing the necessity of aligning company vision with customer perception. Pono highlights the importance of understanding company-market fit, which includes both product-market fit and message-customer fit, essential for convincing customers and validating a company\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Roman Pichler: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.romanpichler.com\/blog\/what-is-a-product-strategy\/\">What Exactly Is a Product Strategy<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(4 min read.) Roman outlines the essential components of an effective product strategy. He explains that a product strategy defines the vision, goals, and roadmap for a product, guiding its development and market positioning. Key elements include understanding customer needs, setting clear objectives, and aligning with business goals. He emphasizes the importance of continuous evaluation and adaptation to ensure the strategy remains relevant and effective. Roman provides a framework for creating a robust product strategy that drives long-term success and aligns product efforts with overall business strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Roman Pichler: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.romanpichler.com\/blog\/business-strategy-and-product-strategy\/\">Why Product People Should Care About Business Strategy<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(4 min read.) Roman explores the relationship between business strategy and product strategy, highlighting their interdependence. He explains that while business strategy outlines the overall goals and direction of the company, product strategy focuses on how specific products contribute to these broader objectives. Roman emphasizes the need for alignment between the two strategies to ensure that product development supports the company&#8217;s vision and competitive position. He offers insights on integrating product strategy with business strategy to drive coherent growth and achieve long-term success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Roger L. Martin: <a href=\"https:\/\/fs.blog\/playing-to-win-how-strategy-really-works\/\">Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(4 min read.) The article &#8220;Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works&#8221; explores the principles outlined in A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin\u2019s book on strategic thinking. It emphasizes that successful strategy involves making clear, deliberate choices about where to compete and how to win. The authors argue that strategy should focus on defining a winning aspiration, choosing where to play and how to win, and setting the right capabilities and management systems. The article highlights that strategy is not about broad plans but about making specific, actionable decisions that guide a company&#8217;s direction and operations effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Roger L. Martin: <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2017\/04\/strategic-choices-need-to-be-made-simultaneously-not-sequentially\">Strategic Choices Need to Be Made Simultaneously, Not Sequentially<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(5 min read.) Roger argues that effective strategy development requires making strategic choices concurrently rather than in a linear, step-by-step fashion. He highlights that modern business environments are dynamic and interconnected, necessitating a holistic approach where decisions about different aspects of strategy (such as target markets, value propositions, and operational models) are integrated and aligned from the outset. This simultaneous decision-making helps companies better address complex challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities by ensuring coherence and adaptability in their strategic planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Roger L. Martin: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3vAIur-N8gM\">How Strategy Really Works<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(60 min video.) Martin argues that strategy is not a complicated concept, but a simple and effective way to guide business decisions. He emphasizes five key questions: What is the winning aspiration? Where to play? How to win? What capabilities are needed? What management systems are required? These five questions should be interconnected and mutually reinforcing, and an iterative process should be used to ensure they work seamlessly together. Martin stresses the importance of designers understanding strategy and business concepts to effectively contribute to business strategy development. He explains that designers can accomplish this by understanding the language of business, acquiring basic business knowledge, and being explicit about their design processes and thinking patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Henry Mintzberg: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZhM1JW2Bb8Q\">5 Ps of Strategy<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(10 min video.) Mintzberg\u2019s Five Ps of Strategy offer a framework for creating a comprehensive and robust strategy by examining five different perspectives: plan, ploy, pattern, position, and perspective. The plan outlines the intended course of action, while the ploy focuses on specific tactics to outmaneuver competitors. Pattern reflects the organization&#8217;s consistent behaviors, while position defines its market standing relative to competitors. Finally, perspective encompasses the organization&#8217;s culture, personality, and worldview, shaping its approach to the market. Mintzberg emphasizes that a strong strategy should consider all five perspectives to avoid simplistic planning and achieve greater success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Michael Porter: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KvYwKM5bY0s\">Strategy<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(64 min video.) Michael argues that strategy is about making crucial trade-offs to achieve superior value rather than doing everything. He stresses that operational effectiveness, while necessary, is not sufficient for achieving long-term competitive advantage and that organizations must differentiate themselves by offering unique value propositions to their customers. He uses Ikea as an example of a company that has successfully implemented this strategy by focusing on offering a limited range of products at a low cost. He also highlights the Cleveland Clinic as an example of a value-based healthcare organization that prioritizes delivering superior value to patients by focusing on outcomes and cost efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Julie Zhou: <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/the-year-of-the-looking-glass\/how-to-be-strategic-f6630a44f86b\">How to Be Strategic<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(7 min read.) Julie argues that being strategic is not just about thinking outside the box or working harder, it&#8217;s about having a clear plan to achieve a specific goal. She shares that a good strategy is credible, coherent, and focused on overcoming the biggest obstacles to achieving success. To be more strategic, you need to align on what success looks like for your team, understand the problem you&#8217;re trying to solve, and prioritize effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shreyas Doshi: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/good-product-strategy-bad-shreyas-doshi\/?trackingId=JPG1K27aQOyTVrFKGgwNvw%3D%3D\">Good Product Strategy, Bad Product Strategy<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(2 min read.) Shreyas shares that a good product strategy is based on a clear understanding of the target customer, a realistic assessment of the market and competition, and a focused approach to addressing customer needs. It involves making deliberate choices about how to compete, highlighting trade-offs, and building on existing company strengths. A good strategy differentiates the product through clear value propositions, sets measurable indicators for success, and demonstrates a positive impact on company metrics. It translates into actionable plans, offers a fresh perspective, and is concise, memorable, and inspiring, prioritizing long-term business results over short-term consensus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Marcus Ryu: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.battery.com\/blog\/strategic-coherence\/\">Strategic Coherence: The Deceptively Difficult Task of Figuring Out&nbsp; Your Startup\u2019s \u2018One Thing&#8217;<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(4 min read.) Marcus discusses the critical need for startups to define and focus on their &#8220;One Thing.&#8221; This concept means identifying and articulating the core purpose or primary offering of the startup, ensuring all efforts align toward this single goal. He emphasizes that a clear, coherent strategy increases the likelihood of success in various areas, such as financing, market reception, and team alignment. By maintaining strategic focus, startups can avoid confusion and maximize their effectiveness in the competitive business landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dave Kellogg: <a href=\"https:\/\/kellblog.com\/2024\/04\/19\/how-to-detect-if-your-startup-has-a-faux-focus\/\">How to Detect if Your Startup Has a Faux Focus<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(3 min read.) Kellogg examines the problem of &#8220;faux focus&#8221; in startups, where companies seem to have a precise focus but actually lack real direction. He uses a hypothetical dialogue to highlight how companies often claim to target specific markets or industries, yet simultaneously attempt to cater to a much broader range. Kellogg criticizes this approach, noting that it dilutes a company&#8217;s core mission and stretches resources too thin. He advocates for a more disciplined approach to focus, recommending strategies such as defining an ideal customer profile with concentric circles and distinguishing between strategic and opportunistic revenue. Kellogg stresses the importance of having segmented metrics and maintaining a clear list of priorities and non-priorities to sharpen focus and effectively manage resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Questions Worksheets Start Here Steve Blank: Strategy First. Then Relentless Tactical Execution (8 min read.) Steve looks back on his early days as VP of marketing at SuperMac, using this experience to offer insights into strategy and execution. As he points out, putting together a strategy may take a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19120,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[564116],"ht-kb-tag":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/368"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":511,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/368\/revisions\/511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=368"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/halloran-lab-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}