Michael Porter is one of the foremost leaders on strategy. This page shares his wisdom on the subject.
“Strategy is the big picture of how the organization is going to win in its environment, whatever that is.”
“Strategy is not competing to be the best. Many managers and leaders and organizations think that they are trying to be the best organization in their industry. The best bank, the best coffee shop, etc. And to do so, we must make the best products. But that’s a wrong approach and a very dangerous way of thinking about strategy. Indeed, there is no best company in any industry…. Strategy is competing to be unique.” Ppt Presentation by Dr. Porter below.
The essential starting point for thinking about strategy is how to be unique and deliver unique value to the customer.
“Strategy rests on unique activities. Competitive Strategy is about being different. It means choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.” Michael Porter, HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy
“Strategic positioning attempts to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by preserving what is distinctive about a company. It means performing different activities from rivals, or performing similar activities in different ways.” Michael Porter, HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy
“The worst error in strategy is to compete with rivals on the same dimensions“. Porter’s UNC PowerPoint below.
From a power point presentation Michael Porter made at UNC
**KTA: Listening to Porter, this truth comes to mind about people. We are uniquely and wonderfully created. We have a unique D.E.S.G.I.G.N. To be successful people we need to identify our unique DESIGN, develop and refine it and use it to add value to the people around us. That’s how we become great. We don’t become great people by copying or imitating other people. In this sense, organizations are just like people. Jim Collins talks about getting the right people on the bus and then figuring out where to go. This really makes sense in this with this kind of thinking and what Porter seems to say because when you bring talent on board, talent would help come up with a unique strategy that that talent can support. In a sense, the output of a company depends on the kind of talent it has. Yet, When Porter talks about
Coming back to the individual, while greatness comes from understanding and following your unique DESIGN to create a unique value that you offer to the world, there are things that we can copy from each other. Porter talks about organizational effectiveness, which is doing processes as effectively and as error free as possible. Individuals can improve their personal effectiveness by learning from others to do things more effectively. But we become great as people or as companies by focusing on pursuing uniqueness.
This is a powerpoint Porter gave on Strategy. Find it on SlideShare.net