strategy

# Business Strategy

World-class strategy coaching synthesizing academic frameworks (Porter, Christensen, Helmer, Thompson) with legendary founder playbooks (Jobs, Bezos, Hastings, Prince, Rauch, Lütke, Collison).

## Quick Start: 5 Universal Strategy Questions

For any strategic decision, start here:

1. **What game are you playing?**
   - What industry dynamics shape competition?
   - Who are you really competing against?

2. **How will you win?**
   - Differentiation, cost leadership, or focus?
   - What's your unique value proposition?

3. **What's your moat?**
   - Which of the 7 Powers do you have (or can build)?
   - Scale, Network, Counter-positioning, Switching Costs, Brand, Cornered Resource, Process?

4. **What job does your customer hire you for?**
   - Functional, emotional, and social dimensions
   - What progress are they trying to make?

5. **What are you saying no to?**
   - Trade-offs define strategy
   - Focus is about what you eliminate

## Multi-Lens Analysis

Don't just analyze competition—expand your thinking across all four dimensions:

| Dimension | Questions |
|-----------|-----------|
| **Individual Inner** | What beliefs/blind spots does the founder hold? What psychology drives the team? |
| **Collective Inner** | What's the company culture? Industry groupthink? What "truths" go unquestioned? |
| **Individual Outer** | What behaviors are visible? What do metrics actually show vs narratives? |
| **Collective Outer** | What systems/structures constrain options? Regulatory? Technology curves? |

### Evolutionary Lens
- Where is this industry in its development arc?
- What pattern from adjacent industries might "transcend and include" current players?
- What technology shifts are changing structural constraints?

## Strategic Challenge Assessment

Ask: **"What strategic challenge are you facing?"**

| Challenge Type | Primary Approach | Load These References |
|---------------|------------------|----------------------|
| Competitive positioning | Porter + Founder wisdom | `porter-competitive`, `founder-playbooks` |
| Market entry/expansion | Blue Ocean + JTBD | `blue-ocean`, `christensen-disruption` |
| Building moats | 7 Powers + Platforms | `helmer-7-powers`, `aggregation-platforms` |
| Disruption threat | Christensen + 7 Powers | `christensen-disruption`, `helmer-7-powers` |
| Platform strategy | Thompson + Founders | `aggregation-platforms`, `founder-playbooks` |
| Strategic planning | Playing to Win | `playing-to-win`, `strategic-analysis` |
| Product strategy | JTBD + Founders | `christensen-disruption`, `founder-playbooks` |
| Scaling decisions | Founders + 7 Powers | `founder-playbooks`, `helmer-7-powers` |

## Coaching Workflow

### Phase 1: Understand the Situation
1. What's the specific strategic question or decision?
2. What's at stake? Timeline?
3. What constraints exist?
4. What have you already considered?

### Phase 2: Apply Relevant Frameworks
Based on challenge type, load appropriate reference files and guide through:
- Relevant analytical frameworks
- Key questions to answer
- Trade-offs to consider

### Phase 3: Learn from Founders
For practical wisdom, reference founder playbooks:
- How did similar founders approach this?
- What patterns apply to your situation?
- What contrarian insights might help?

### Phase 4: Synthesize and Decide
- Summarize key insights
- Identify the core trade-off
- Make a clear recommendation
- Define success criteria

## Founder Wisdom Quick Reference

| Founder | Key Principle | When to Apply |
|---------|---------------|---------------|
| **Jobs** | "Focus is about saying no" | Product decisions, simplification |
| **Bezos** | "It's always Day 1" | Long-term thinking, avoiding stasis |
| **Hastings** | "Culture eats strategy" | Organizational decisions, talent |
| **Prince** | "Freemium at infrastructure scale" | Business model, market creation |
| **Rauch** | "DX as trojan horse" | Developer products, adoption strategy |
| **Lütke** | "Arm the rebels (not the empire)" | Platform vs aggregator decisions |
| **Collison** | "Think in decades" | Infrastructure bets, global strategy |

## Framework Quick Reference

| Framework | Core Insight | Key Question |
|-----------|--------------|--------------|
| **Five Forces** | Industry structure drives profitability | "How attractive is this industry?" |
| **7 Powers** | Sustainable advantage requires benefit + barrier | "What power do we have or can build?" |
| **Aggregation Theory** | Internet enables demand aggregation | "Are we a platform or aggregator?" |
| **Blue Ocean** | Create uncontested market space | "What can we eliminate/reduce/raise/create?" |
| **Jobs to Be Done** | Customers hire products for progress | "What job is the customer trying to do?" |
| **Playing to Win** | Strategy is an integrated set of choices | "Where will we play and how will we win?" |

## Reference Files

| File | Content | When to Load |
|------|---------|--------------|
| `porter-competitive.md` | Five Forces, Value Chain, Generic Strategies | Industry analysis, positioning |
| `christensen-disruption.md` | Innovator's Dilemma, JTBD | Disruption, innovation, product |
| `helmer-7-powers.md` | 7 Powers, Power Progression | Moat building, sustainability |
| `aggregation-platforms.md` | Aggregation Theory, Platform Strategy | Digital strategy, ecosystems |
| `blue-ocean.md` | Value Innovation, ERRC Grid | New markets, differentiation |
| `playing-to-win.md` | 5 Strategic Choices | Strategic planning |
| `founder-playbooks.md` | Jobs, Bezos, Hastings, Prince, Rauch, Lütke, Collison | Practical wisdom, patterns |
| `strategic-analysis.md` | SWOT, Scenarios, Decision Frameworks | Structured analysis |

## Decision-Making Heuristics

### Bezos: One-Way vs Two-Way Doors
- **One-way door**: Irreversible, high consequence → Deliberate carefully
- **Two-way door**: Reversible, can iterate → Move fast, learn

### Jobs: The Saying No Test
- "I'm as proud of what we don't do as what we do"
- If you can't clearly articulate what you're NOT doing, your strategy isn't clear

### Hastings: The Keeper Test
- "Would I fight to keep this person/product/feature?"
- If no, it's time to move on

### Lütke: Platform vs Aggregator
- Platforms empower others to build
- Aggregators intermediate and control
- "Arm the rebels" = be a platform

## Meta-Principle: Continue Thinking

**The mark of strategic genius is the ability to continue thinking.**

Warning signs you've stopped:
- Defending a framework instead of questioning it
- Reducing every problem to your favorite lens (everything is a "positioning problem")
- Dismissing ideas because they don't fit your model
- "That's just how it's done"

Frameworks are tools, not truth. The best strategists hold contradictions, use perspectives as instruments, and resist the urge to close off inquiry too early.

**Identity trap**: If your identity is attached to a strategy, you can't think clearly about changing it. The sunk cost isn't money—it's ego.