Playing To Win

The Spectrum and its Implications for Strategy — I can’t help it. When I get lots of interesting feedback on a piece, I want to do more. This time it was feedback (Dan’s being primary) suggesting that even as I warned about the extremes of same/different thinking, I fell prey to it by categorizing platforms something distinctly different…

Why it Really Matters for your Strategy — Sessions at a client last week and then another one this week reminded me of the importance of cost-effective differentiation. The threat of becoming an ineffective high-value player is always lurking. That is why I have dedicated my 13th Year III Playing to Win Practitioner Insights (PTW/PI) piece to Cost-Effective…

More Same than Different — Last week, I received a great reader question (thanks, Jim) on platform businesses: do they inevitably shift to cost leadership even if they start as differentiators? I decided that it is well worth dedicating my 12th Year III Playing to Win Practitioner Insights (PTW/PI) piece to Platform Businesses & Strategy…

Author Answers to Reader Questions — This piece was spurred by a reader question about the order of the boxes in the Strategy Choice Cascade. It is one of many great questions I get about the structure and functioning of the five boxes in the Cascade that deserve answers. Hence, I am dedicating my 11th Year…

How to Stop Working Hard, But Ineptly — Given the overwhelming response to Being ‘Too Busy’ Means Your Personal Strategy Sucks, I decided to write the organizational equivalent, exploring why organizations get so busy that they feel overwhelmed, always behind, unable to catch up, etc. My 10th Year III Playing to Win Practitioner Insights (PTW/PI) piece is Unclogging…

The Backstory of a Strategy Classic — Yesterday (Feb 5, 2023) was 10th anniversary of the publication of Playing To Win, which, happily, has gone on to be one of the best-selling books on strategy ever published. Perhaps most gratifyingly, it continues to be relevant a decade after publication. I thought readers might be interested in how…

An Essential Leadership Skill in the Modern Economy — As the business world evolves, the required skills of business leaders naturally evolve too. The required skills may well not be entirely new but a heightened capability in an existing skill is necessitated. I believe that skills in curating meetings of members of your team is in that category, and…

You Need a Better Where-to-Play/How-to-Win — People inform me they are busy as if it is a badge of honor. For me, it is a signal that they have a weak personal Playing to Win strategy. To explain why, my 7th Year III Playing to Win Practitioner Insights (PTW/PI) piece discusses Being ‘Too Busy’ Means Your…