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.