How to develop a strategy that wins in competitive markets | Roger Martin

This episode is with Roger Martin, writer, strategy advisor and in 2017 was named the #1 management thinker in the world, he is former Dean and Institute Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in Canada, he is a trusted strategy advisor to the CEOs of companies worldwide including Procter & Gamble, Lego and Ford, and he's the author of 12 books including Playing To Win - how strategy really works. This is a discussion about how to develop a strategy that wins in competitive markets.
SHOW NOTES
00:01:19 Roger Martin's introduction to the Growth Manifesto Podcast
00:02:10 How do you define strategy?
00:03:33 Strategy does not always assume that there is a competitive landscape or that you have a competitor
00:05:57 How do you define your "where to play" in your strategy?
00:07:33 Roger unpacks the confusion between "strategy" and "planning"
00:10:37 How the military definition of strategy relates to the business definition of strategy
00:15:55 What do you need to create a winning strategy?
00:19:06 Roger explains the "How might we?" questions in strategy
00:20:25 How many possibilities should a strategy session come up with?
00:23:24 Should companies try to win in just one area with their strategy or can they play across many different areas?
00:27:50 According to Roger, you need to pick a "where" in which you aspire to be number 1 in share for a successful strategy
00:30:29 In strategy, you need to have a winning aspiration that helps you pick a "where to play" and a "how to win"
00:31:39 How Roger sees good business strategy as a positive force for humanity
00:33:30 How do we choose the one idea that has the best likelihood of success amongst all the possibilities in our strategy?
00:35:55 How long does the process of choosing the best idea in our strategy usually take?
00:37:58 Roger talks about how clever entrepreneurs can enable the world to "de-risk" from whatever it is that they're doing or selling
00:44:01 Strategy is an exercise in shortening your odds
00:45:51 Roger explains why it's a tricky time for big companies these days in terms of taking risks due to smaller companies trying to disrupt industries
00:50:12 Roger and Alex talk about some of the measures big companies can take to protect themselves from the small disruptors
00:52:08 Once you've established what to do or which direction to take your strategy, how do you actually win?
00:55:49 When you find out that your strategy doesn't fit, do you simply adjust the strategy or go through the whole process again?
00:57:50 How can management systems help with your strategy?
01:05:15 Roger talks about how management systems are the hardest and most boring part to work on to ensure your strategy succeeds
01:08:35 According to Roger, when you're the market leader in your industry, you always have to be on the lookout for different kinds of competitors
01:09:58 How do you measure strategy?
01:13:51 Roger believes that companies that are trying to make the world a better place by being good to the rest of humanity are more likely to create shareholder value
01:17:13 What's the one thing you'd want our listeners to do?
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LINKS
Roger's Website rogerlmartin.com/
Roger Martin on LinkedIn / roger-martin-9916911a9
Roger Martin on Medium / rogermartin
Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-St...
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The Growth Manifesto Podcast is brought to you by Webprofits. We interview business leaders, marketers, and entrepreneurs to share inspiring stories of real people who have succeeded in the business world.
Hosted by Alex Cleanthous.
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[@anandvasani1]

KZbin is good because of such content - a salute to Mr. Roger Martin

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks, for more content like this, subscribe to our channel or visit www.growthmanifesto.com

[@ryzarabino]

2:15 How do you define strategy? 1) Where to play and how to win 2) Strategy vs planning: Complements, not substitutes 11:13 How does Military vs Business Strategy compare? 1) Military: What mattered were our capabilities and that of the competitors’, as well as the things that we will do vs the things they will do 2) Business: Started similarly, but evolved to include and put greater interest in the consumer 3) Strategy for competing vs for winning - which customers will you serve better than everyone else? 16:05 How do you create a winning strategy? 1) Understand your customers really well to develop the capabilities to serve those customers in a unique way. 2) After knowing who your customers are, you enter into the creative act. What’s a theory for how I might serve those customers better than anybody else? What are they missing? Is there something they long for? 3) Come up with a variety of theories and test the logic-which of these do we think has the best chance to create a win?

[@acatcalledleonard5315]

Thank you !

[@mty1966]

15:59 Q - What do you need to create a strategy? 16:59 Q - What is the next step after understanding the customer? 20:26 How many possibilities should a strategy session comes out with? 21:56 Summary 23:25 Q - How many segments can you select to play? 27:51 Q - Is being no 1 a segment in a checkpoint? 30:30 33:30 Q - How do choose the most likely winning option? - What need to be true? What we worry not likely to be true? 35:55 Q - How long does this process takes? 38:00 44:02 50:12 54:09 55:09 57:19 57:49 Management Systems 1:04:49 Summary Management Systems 1:09:57 Q - How do you measure strategy? 1:13:57 Q -

[@PlasticDetox]

This was so helpful! Thank you!

[@petrusgimbad946]

Love that being good to humanity - thank you Roger.

[@bscromania]

That's a great nugget that I have never heard before from Prof. Roger Martin: "You don't try to kill the competition, you try to convince the competition that they can beat you elsewhere". I guess that this is how you could best tell if your mix of Strategic Choices was successful, besides reaching the Winning Aspirations.

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@bscromania]

The "tallest local peak" is a good reason to consider a matrix of potential choice types to consider. For instance, if you consider 3-5 choice types for WTP and HTW, you would look at a 3x3 or 5x5, or 3x5 matrix of choice types, therefore considering 9, 25, or 15 combinations. Not all of them may work well together, but one or some of those combinations may potentially be your most successful Strategic Positioning.

[@boxfresh7]

Fantastic talk. Thank you for the high quality videos.

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@jeanbernardmbarga3265]

Amazing. Absolutely amazing interview.

[@dabz3432]

strategic thinking in business and personal contexts is in my view one of the most underdeveloped skill that we should all take a pause and commit to developing. valuable dialogue with inspiring insights from both. you should invite him back for another and explore the many layers of how the chances for success can be elevated, and perhaps codified. btw, roger's talk at davos in 2013 is also worth your time.

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@naomicampana]

Agreeeeeeeed. And thanks for the reference there, will check it out.

[@navanjungrewal9853]

Thanks for this great discussion! Very informative.

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks, for more content like this, subscribe to our channel or visit www.growthmanifesto.com

[@danielmduarte]

Wow. The min 47 is hitting hard wright on what we're seeing in the today's AI battle, with OpenAI "teaching" Google how to do AI. I'm a big fan of the work of Dr. Roger Martin. Thank you for this masterpice interview.

[@william2norman]

Such a thoughtful conversation about strategy (which I think I understand better now). Good questions and examples too.

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks, for more content like this subscribe to our channel or visit www.growthmanifesto.com

[@william2norman]

@@GrowthManifestoPodcast I already subscribed hours ago. Cheers.

[@bscromania]

"Strategy and Planning are two different things." That is correct, but only for Strategy as a construct of choices on Strategy's two dimensions and capabilities required to support those choices, resulting from a process called Strategy Formulation, or Strategy Development. At the end of that process, you can say: "This is my Strategy!". Great, but that is only an intention, an aspiration, a statement. As brilliantly might it have been formulated, Strategy as a process, more precisely as Strategy's Management process, incorporates much more than that. Since bringing your Strategic Choices to life requires to fill the gaps between the capabilities that you posses today and those required to support the choices that you have made, you actually need a plan about how will you fill those gaps. You need Strategy Execution, which means Strategic Planning, as a process of producing the consequential Strategic Plan, and the process of executing that plan. So Strategy Management, as process, is Strategy Formulation + Strategy Execution. Therefore, "Strategy and [Strategic] Planning" are not quite two different things. In fact they are the two faces of the same coin: the Strategy Management process.

[@vanessarighetto]

Great talk!!!

[@bscromania]

"Strategy is defined as choices. Choices to do some things and not others. An integrated set of choices about where you are going to play and how are you going to win where you have chosen to play." Great, but that is only part of what Strategy is. More precisely, that may be the definition of Strategic Positioning on Strategy's two dimensions (where-to-play and how-to-win). Multiple companies may aim to achieve the same positioning, but only some may succeed. Why? Because, starting from what capabilities they posses today and what resources they can mobilize (never the same for two separate companies), they may be able to fill the gaps between (X) the capabilities required to turn those Strategic Choices into reality and (Y) the capabilities they currently have. Or may not be able to do that. So, Strategy is about (a) making the right choices (Strategic Positioning), resulting in a required Capabilities System to support those choices and (b) filling the required capabilities gaps to turn those choices into reality (Strategy Execution). Therefore, Strategy without either (a) or (b) is not Strategy. The case of (a) without (b) is Strategic Positioning. The case of (b) without (a) is Operational Improvement (w/o strategic purpose). Neither case fully represents Strategy.

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@dsophie]

Such a great interview, thank you!

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback! Glad you liked it!

[@AlexCleanthous]

Thanks Sophie!

[@distinctionconsulting]

Well done Alex, I've seen quite a few Roger Martin interviews. You definitely asked the best questions I've seen to get Roger to share his vast experience and insights. You really listen well and build on his ideas

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback! Glad you liked it!

[@AlexCleanthous]

Thanks for your kind words. I really appreciate it :)

[@dalemyers9045]

I agree. Strategic thinking is for personal and business contexts. As the owner of two small learning companies, I've helped entrepreneurs and executives on the one hand and parents/students on the other. It's amazing to see how kids excel once given a framework for decision making. Infusing that method of thinking throughout communities is as difficult or moreso than doing so throughout an organization. Yet, it's a challenge that I've recently embarked upon.

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@sirisaksirisak6981]

1. Be the player 2. Rules of the game. 3. Who's your completers . 4. What stg. there're in this game. example 5 marketing stg. 6. What's problem faceing , how to handle .7.What stg. they used in game. 8. How to win the game. 9. Most winners often use is Stg. Mix.

[@chandrakantjohare]

Great thoughts and discussion !

[@victorportes6876]

You guys are so inspring, super Thnx!

[@wesleypage]

That was great, guys. Thank you.

[@albertocespedes9785]

Awesome video. Thanks. You won a sub at first view.

[@AlexCleanthous]

Nice :)

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad you liked it!

[@mangarific1]

This guy is so good, holy shit

[@AlexCleanthous]

Yeah, this was one of my favourite interviews :)

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks! we're glad you liked it!

[@fatemakholusi6246]

For startups, can strategy be done solo? At least at the very beginning?

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Hi Fatema, of course 🙂

[@JoePerdue]

😂 I thought it was just me who noticed “strategy” being abused as a modifier in the office.

[@ZahraIsMyDog]

This is a fantastic video, but the better business schools teach the difference between risk and uncertainty and that data driven strategy’s goal is to minimize uncertainty, not risk.

[@TheTattooedSoul24]

I'm in favour of any solution minimizing risk 🎉

[@bcbitchkkv]

(58:07) How do Management Systems help with Strategy? (FOUR SEASONS HOTELS EXAMPLE)

[@sirisaksirisak6981]

Stg. base on business ethics, to harmonize world.

[@markkuvierula4866]

The very essence of strategy is competitive advantage. It works like a silverbullet: it permeates the whole organisation.

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@bscromania]

Unfortunately, aiming to be #1 in your category is a strategic trap. Prof. Michael Porter has articulated that very well in his speeches about "There is no 'best' as an overall caracteristic of a product or service!". Take the example of the operating profit in 2021 as % of revenues for these top car makers: #1 Volkswagen: 6.2%, #2 Toyota: 8.2%, #3 Daimler-Benz: 8.97%, ... #7 BMW: 11.2%. So, becoming #1 is not necessarily a good aspiration to consider in the process of formulating a Strategy. Unfortunately, it's just a distraction. Therefore, forget about it and refocus on a Winning Aspiration that is related to a verified Job-to-Be-Done and a way to provide the solution preferred by the customers having to solve that JTBD. It might not be a car, after all :-) For example, IKEA has this Winning Aspiration: "To become the preferred home furnishing choice for customers looking for good quality at affordable price". Not #1 in revenue, not #1 in profitability, although they are at a very good 13% operating profit (2021).

[@jeanbernardmbarga3265]

I think there is a misunderstanding with what you think he said. You just illustrated with a clear example (IKEA) what the message he sent through.

[@DenzelPrempeh]

good use of my 1 hour of my life.....

[@GrowthManifestoPodcast]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad you liked it!

[@binbeone1215]

Strategy Define where to play How to win

[@binbeone1215]

Stratety to win : how you serve cus better anyone else

[@binbeone1215]

How to creat

[@binbeone1215]

Understand customer

[@solomonwise6743]

They look alike

[@AngelBien]

😂

[@jeanbernardmbarga3265]

Very much I noticed too 😅

[@MrMattgood14]

Chaptersssssss

[@coimbralaw]

What does that even mean?

[@viniciussouza6269]

at 17:55 this is a very generic strategy. I work in transportation, amongst the top 10 players I would say there is no such thing that one does that the other can't do.

[@shwnshts9469]

At no point did the name "growth manifesto" get a second glance...like we sure about GROWTH MANIFESTO?