CAN YOU SAY WHAT YOUR STARATEGY IS ??

About the Authors

DAVID J. COLLLISAdjunct Professor in Strategy Unit of HBS

Author of many books on corporate strategyConsultant to Edward Jones, a Brokerage Firm

MICHAEL G. RUKSTADWas a Senior Research Fellow at HBS

Author of many books on Corporate StrategyReceived many awards for teaching including the Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence

in Teaching

S T R A T E G Y

Understanding Strategy..• How to achieve the goals set by

company?• Governs the ‘Right Thing to Do’• Each strategy corresponds to an

inherent tradeoff• Features of Strategic objective-

Specific, measurable and time bound

Why Strategize???• Streamlining behaviour within the business• Exponentially increasing the efforts • Easing the formulation of goals• Simplifying the implementation of tasks • Communicating mission ,vision and values of

company• Creating a difference in industry landscape

Elements of StrategyOBJECTIVE• Definition of ends that strategy is designed to

achieve

SCOPE• Highlighting the boundaries within which the

business will operate

ADVANTAGE• What you business will do better than others?

OBJECTIVE• Not to be confused with statement of values/mission

STRATEGY‘The right thing

to do’

MISSIONUnderlying motivation

VALUES‘Doing the right

thing’

VISIONWhat a business

wants to be

SCOPE

CUSTOMER• Specific type of client• Encourages focused

experimentation & initiatives

• Defines boundaries beyond which business will not venture

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Identifying the areas where business will be

present

Helps organization analyse prospects of

organic/inorganic growth

VERTICAL INTEGRATION• Defining levels of

distribution channels , upstream suppliers, downstream buyers

• Benefits of standardization , simplicity & deep experience

ADVANTAGE

• A strategy statement that explains why a customer should buy your product. “Strategic Sweet Spot” of the organisation

• Walmart: “everyday low prices for a broad range of goods that are always in stock in convenient geographic locations”

Statement of Customer Value

Proposition

• A description of how internal activities must be aligned so that only your firm can deliver that value proposition

• Captures the unique activities that allows the firm ALONE to deliver the value proposition

Activity-System Map

Scope

Advantage

Objective

Edward Jones Strategy Statement

To grow to 17,000 financial advisers by 2012 by offering trusted and convenient face-to-face financial advice to conservative individual investors who delegate their financial decisions, through a national network of one-financial adviser offices.

Edward Jones Strategy

Objective• Was arrived at after

passionate arguments among the partners

• Financial adviser the only profit center

Scope• Clarity about

customers. Did not introduce online trading

• Not vertically integrated into proprietary mutual funds

Advantage• Only 1 financial

adviser per office• Has the largest

number of branch offices among brokerage firms

Developing a Strategy StatementDetailed understan

ding of customer

needs

Segmenting

customers

Indentify Unique ways to create valueContinuous objective

assessment of the competitors

THANK YOU