A dynamic view of strategy

Choosing a distinctive strategic position involves making tough choices on three dimensions: who to target as customers, what products to offer, acid how to undertake related activities efficiently The most common source of s trategic failure is the inability to make clear, explicit choices on these three dimension. Unfortunately, not only will aggressive competitors imitate attractive posi tions, but, perhaps more importantly, new strategic positions will be emerg ing continually. in industry after industry, once formidable companies with seemingly unassailable strategic positions are humbled by relatively unkno wn companies that base their attacks on creating and exploiting new strateg ic positions. Markides describes incursions into established markets by strategic innovat ors such as Canon and the brokerage firm Edward Jones. The hallmark of thei r success is strategic innovation - proactively establishing distinctive st rategic positions that are critical to shifting market share or creating ne w markets. To prepare for the inevitable strategic innovation that will disrupt its ma rket, an organization should: identify turning points before a crisis occurs by regularly monitoring indi cators of strategic rather than financial health in the market. Prevent cultural and structural inertia by creating a culture that welcomes change and is ready to accept new strategic innovation even if it disrupts the status quo. Develop processes that allow experimenting with new ideas to reveal the pot ential of a new innovation. Develop the required competencies and skills. Manage a transition to the new strategic position by clearly deciding wheth er to adopt the new position and by ensuring that old and new coexist harmo niously. Designing a successful strategy is a never-ending, dynamic process of ident ifying and colonizing a distinctive strategic position; excelling in this p osition while concurrently searching for, finding, and cultivating another viable strategic position; simultaneously managing both positions; slowly m aking a transition to the new position as the old one matures and declines; and starting the cycle again.