Strategy in Three Minutes. Episode 24

1. Strategy and Value Exchange: If you start with marketing analysis, you’ve already lost

Creative Mindset vs Market Mindset

A few years ago, I saw a large Market Map in my client’s office.

It displayed key market players and their shares. “It helps us make strategic decisions,” said the CEO.

It was a nice visualization.

But making decisions based on this data is like building a skyscraper from a napkin sketch.

‘Markets’ don’t exist.

XX-century economists coined the term to explain their theories.

Walk out of the office, and you’ll see that the world consists of people, not markets.

Their needs, both personal and professional, shape the world.

Satisfying these needs is a strategic opportunity.

Don’t analyze the market, create your own one.

Use Needs Maps instead of market maps.

[1] Identify your customers’ needs.

[2] Segment them by their needs.

[3] Find new ways to fulfill their needs.

2. Strategy-related terms: Three unconventional ways to build a new market

If our brain were a vehicle, it wouldn’t be a race car or a rocket—it’d be a train because it always tries to stay on the tracks.

These tracks are made of our knowledge and experience.

And when we try to take our ‘train’ off the tracks, it resists.

That’s why I know many mental tricks I use while facilitating strategic discussions. These tricks help groups to see the tasks from different angles.

And when we discuss igniting new markets, I use these three tweaks:

[1] Create a CJM and imagine it takes a customer three times fewer steps to solve their task than now. How could it become a reality?

[2] Build the value network of your market with all the players and their relationships. Then, remove the most significant players. Under what conditions would the network still function without them?

[3] Imagine that some participants of the value network sell or buy products for free or use non-monetary forms of payment. How could it work?

What other tricks do you use to ignite your creative thinking?

Share your experience in the comments.

3. Trend of the week: Inperfectionation instead of innovation

In 2007, I sold my family’s summer house for some reason.

There was an old fridge in the house. In my childhood, it had been in our city apartment.

Then it got old, and I was demoted to the summer house.

In 2007, it was at least 40 years old.

But it still worked.

Recently, I’ve read many articles about CES. We’ve seen many amazing devices and innovative solutions.

Some gadgets look smarter than their future users.

It’s great that so many brilliant people are innovative and trying to improve our world.

But could we start with making all existing gadgets reliable?

When will my Mac finally learn to stop dropping the hotspot connection from my iPhone every minute (when there’s no WiFi around)?

When will Google Maps finally learn to stop making two dumb mistakes on a 10 km route?

Will my grandkids live to see the glorious day when the TV finally stops pretending it doesn’t know my WiFi?

Innovation is great.

But what your customers need even more than innovation is always working-as-they’re-supposed-to solutions.

Do you provide such solutions for your customers?

Which poorly working devices or programs annoy you the most? Share your experience in the comments.

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Want to unlock the future of your industry? Let’s play the Foresight Game! DM me to find out how it can reshape your perspective.

Read also: On Pantyhose, Taxi Cabs, and Billions: Don’t Beat the Competition—Make It Obsolete

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Check out my book, Red and Yellow Strategies: Flip Your Strategic Thinking and Overcome Short-termism