Path to winning: where and how
You might have heard it before, but it's worth repeating: if we remove "all the bells and whistles", strategy boils down to making choices – i.e., being both deliberate and intentional of what to focus on and how. So it's a quite simple and straightforward concept, but simple doesn't mean easy. Arguably on the contrary, there isn't anything easier than to assume a kind of "peanut butter strategy" – you know, how the quote goes:
If everything is a priority, then nothing really is a priority!
Some good and frequently used metaphors for strategy are either war or sports based. Interesting enough, in both cases we can similarly express another way to articulate what strategy is designed to accomplish: it's about winning.
A simple Google search will show how that is often used in topics around strategy – for instance, the book "Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works" by Lafley & Martin is one that has been recommended to me and which I recommend others myself.
I do find, however, somewhat misleading to use references from finite games such as sports and war when I think strategy in business probably should be looked at more with an infinite game perspective. And yes, arguably an infinite game is largely just a continuum composition of too many finite games, but I digress.
The real point I'm trying to make is this:
I believe we should look at strategy in business with an infinite game lens, where we should be discovering our path to winning.
Do notice the "-ing" in the end of win is quite intentional, to capture the idea of dynamic, movement. Whatever we define today, in terms of where and how to play is both fundamentally an assumption and the best model we could think of now. It may, in fact it shall, evolve over time, as we learn more.
Arguably, it’s more about the discipline of figuring it out, of developing the capability to think and articulate your (strategic) choices, than it is about strictly following them.
Even because there should be nuance and context to be taken into consideration as one look at the implications about the overarching made choices for your specific domain / area, product, team, whatever you are responsible for. By the way, that also alludes to the fact that going through it, making your (strategic) choices can be applied with any of those perspectives mentioned: domain / area, product, and many more (as Lafley & Martin explain in their already referred book: down to the level of granularity where it doesn't make sense to capture any specificity, as what has been written out already capture enough of what is needed at levels down).
Perhaps for some this all sounds way too abstract and conceptual, so let me give you a couple of examples of how you could go about it while making choices which are not just binay (so capturing some nuance), somewhat inspired by other references that help to conceptualize prioritization (e.g. Kano model). First from a domain / area standpoint, and then with from a product / feature one.
As anything that ambitions to have an applicability that goes beyond a very specific context, you should NOT take this at its face value (as-is), but rather think about the underlying principles (as things that can scale, as opposed to specific practices that don't) and how to apply in your context. They key to stick with you is this:
There are elements that we want to use as "leverage", to bring about mosf ot the positive effects ("play offense"), there are elements we just need to use to keep things stable or to neutralize possible negative effects ("play by the rule"), and finally there are elements we just got to do or cope with, as a kind of "table stakes" ("play defense").
Again, developing the thinking discipline is what matters more in the end – but hopefully the choices being made will indeed lead to a…Path for winning in your particular context!
By Rodrigo Sperb, feel free to connect, I'm happy to engage and interact. If I can be of further utility to you or your organization in getting better at working with product development, I am available for part-time advisory, consulting or contract-based engagements.