For a management team, it is hard to accept that a strategy that was birthed after so much work, discussion, and compromise is leading to limited growth, or worse. That is the predicament that many SMBs find themselves in, and it can be painfully apparent especially in these times. Here is a framework that describes four common strategic traps, some of them uglier than others, identified by examining the combination of two strategic biases (see diagram). (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘Strategy’
Has Your Company Fallen Into One of These Four Strategic Traps?
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009When Does “Focus” Become “Tunnel Vision”?
Friday, March 6th, 2009
“Tunnel vision is a medical condition that results in a loss of peripheral vision. As a result, the patient can only see objects from within a circular field.”
Today, “focus” is an almost universally accepted imperative when elaborating a business strategy. But tunnel vision is a risk inherent to concentrating on the pressing objectives of the day. So what happens when focus turns to tunnel vision? What are the signs? How does one resist it?
Clearly, there is a right way to focus, as well as some pitfalls. (more…)
The Vertical Strategy: an Ace in the Hole for SMBs?
Saturday, February 28th, 2009Verticalization is a favorite strategy of small companies because it opens the possibility of upstaging bigger firms on specific markets . It is the classic case of a small force achieving a breakthrough against a larger opponent by concentrating overwhelming firepower on a small section of a long front.
Going vertical can proceed along two very different vectors: one is a “soft”, messaging-oriented axis, the other is more focused on product, or it can be a combination of the two. The costs and risks involved are very different in each case. (more…)
Verticalization: Ugly Word, Powerful Idea
Thursday, February 26th, 2009Verticalization is the ugly neologism that describes a long term trend in which BtoB companies see industries as the operative way of grouping customers . Conversely, verticalization also refers to a strategy of focusing on a specific industry in order to compete more effectively.
So what are the dynamics, and what can be done to maximize the chances of success with a vertical strategy? (more…)
Customers Have No Vision for You
Thursday, February 19th, 2009This may come as somewhat of a surprise to those who have stayed with the conventional wisdom that “the customer is always right“. But satisfying the request of every customer with the hope that the firm’s reputation for excellence will spread and be the key to riches is a noble but ultimately losing proposition.
Although customers as a group have requests, ideas, suggestions, and legitimate problems that need solutions, only the company’s management and the CEO can have a Vision. Only the company’s leadership (more…)
