Strategy
The decisions that matter — where to compete, what to drop, and thinking long-term.
26 reads
Gillette and the trick of giving away the handle to sell the blades
Selling the device cheap and the refill expensive made King Gillette a legend. The same move still hides in your printer, your console and your coffee maker.
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Spotify: why we stopped buying music and started renting it
We went from buying an album once to renting an entire catalog for a monthly fee. Behind that shift hides a business lesson that reaches far beyond music.
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The economic moat: what protects a company from competition
A good product isn't enough. What keeps a business alive for decades is a moat the competition can't cross. Here are the five that exist.
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The network effect: why the winner takes almost all
Some products get more valuable the more people use them. That one idea explains why WhatsApp won, why a lonely marketplace dies, and why competing against an established network is so brutally hard.
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Economies of scale explained with tacos
Why your first taco costs a fortune and your thousandth costs almost nothing. The logic behind making more to spend less, and the exact moment that magic breaks.
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Vertical integration: when doing it all yourself pays off
Tesla builds its own batteries, Zara sews its own clothes, and Apple designs its own chips. Controlling the chain gives you power, but it can also crush you. Here's when it's worth it.
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Blue ocean strategy: compete where nobody else is
Most businesses fight over the same pie and end up cutting prices until they bleed. There's another option: bake a brand-new pie where no one else is cooking.
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The first-mover advantage and why it can be a trap
Getting there first sounds like a guaranteed win, but history is full of pioneers who paved the road so someone else could take everything. Being first isn't the same as being best.
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Why everyone wants to sell you a subscription
From software to coffee to razor blades, almost everything turned into a monthly fee. That is no accident: behind it sits one of the most powerful ideas in modern business.
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Freemium: give it away to charge later
Giving your product away sounds insane, until you realize the gift isn't charity, it's the front door. The whole game is where you draw the line.
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Cannibalize your own product before someone else does
Apple launched a phone that made its own iPod obsolete, and Netflix killed its DVD business to push streaming. Competing against yourself is scary, but letting a rival do it is scarier.
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From product to platform: the leap that multiplies your value
You sell a product once. A platform lets thousands of people build on top of you and pay you for the privilege. Here is how that leap actually happens.
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The pivot: when changing your mind saves the company
Slack came out of a failed video game and Instagram out of a check-in app nobody used. Learning when to turn is sometimes worth more than your original plan.
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How a small business takes on a giant
The giant has more money, more locations and more ads. You have something it lost years ago. Here's how to fight where Goliath is slow.
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How to define your value proposition in a single sentence
If you can't explain in one sentence why a customer should choose you, they won't be able to either. Here's how to find and write your value proposition using proven tools.
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A SWOT analysis in one afternoon, for a small business
SWOT is a strategy tool that fits on a single sheet divided into four. In one afternoon it gives you an honest picture of your business: where you are strong, where you are weak, what opportunities exist and what threats are coming.
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Porter's five forces, explained for a small business
Why some businesses make money easily while others fight for every dollar rarely comes down to how good you are. It comes down to the structure of your industry, and Michael Porter boiled that structure into five forces any owner can map in an afternoon.
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Blue ocean strategy: how to compete where there's no competition
Most small businesses fight in the same bloody red puddle: same customers, same prices, same offer. Blue ocean strategy proposes the opposite, creating a new space where competition simply does not exist.
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Your business model on one page
The Business Model Canvas captures how your business creates, delivers, and captures value across nine boxes that fit on a single sheet. Here's each one, with examples from service businesses.
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Niche markets: why specializing sells more
Trying to sell to everyone usually means connecting with no one. The focus strategy explains why narrowing your audience grows the business, and how to apply it without going broke.
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Competitive advantage: what makes you hard to copy
Why some businesses hold off the competition while others collapse the moment a rival opens next door. A clear look at competitive advantage and the 'moat' Warren Buffett guards so carefully, told for owners of real businesses.
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How to do a competitor analysis
A simple method for looking at your competitors with a cool head: who to look at, what to find out, how to organize what you find in a table, and above all how to turn it into decisions for your business.
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Pricing strategy: penetration or skimming
Start low to win customers fast, or start high to maximize margin? Penetration and skimming are two opposite paths, and choosing wrong can cost you. Here's when each one fits.
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Vertical vs horizontal integration: how companies grow
Two ways to grow: sideways, by buying companies that do what you do, or up and down, by controlling your own supply chain. Here is each path with real examples and how a small business can use it.
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How to write a one-page business plan
Forget the forty-page document nobody reads. A business plan fits on a single sheet, takes twenty minutes to draft, and gets updated every week. Here is the template and how to fill it in.
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Differentiation or cost, Porter's choice
Almost any business that thrives competes in one of two ways: by being the cheapest or by being the most special. Michael Porter explained why trying both at once usually ends badly.
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