OPM 1 · OPM 3 · Stanford · 1 of 7 in Strategy & growth
Make strategy guide daily choices
A useful strategy makes customer value, activities and everyday decisions reinforce one another.
01 · The picture
A useful strategy makes customer value, activities and everyday decisions reinforce one another.
Follow the decisions
01Customer value
02Chosen advantage
03Supporting activities
04Daily choices
02 · The idea
How I understand it.
Start with the customer you serve, the value you promise and the advantage that should make the business attractive. Connect those choices to pricing, hiring, distribution, technology and operations. A promise of personal service needs people and capacity to deliver it; low prices need an operating model that can sustain them. Competitors, suppliers and substitutes also influence how much value the business can keep. Test the strategy against a recurring decision, such as accepting an unusual order or reserving spare capacity. Ask people in different roles how they would decide and examine conflicting answers. Leaders then clarify the trade-off and supply the resources it requires. If opposing decisions both fit the same statement, make it more specific. Review the choices when evidence about customers, competitors or delivery changes.
03 · A fictional example
Put it into a business.
A neighbourhood bakery promises fresh bread before commuters leave for work. It chooses a narrow range, overnight production, nearby delivery routes and early opening hours. A proposed afternoon catering service would compete for the same staff and ovens. The owner tests its effect on the morning promise before expanding, checking available capacity, daily waste and local customer demand.
04 · Bring it into the room
Which recurring decision reveals a conflict between your customer promise and the way the business operates?
One decisionOne next actionOne way to check
Where this note comes from
An original explanation drawn from my saved learning material. The worked example is fictional.
Harvard OPM · Unit 1Course reading or session material
Strategy - Strategy Industry Analysis and Positioning Lecture Slides
Session faculty: David B. Yoffie
PDF pages 10–14 and 20–25; strategy identification, evaluation and industry analysis
Harvard OPM · Unit 3Course reading or session material
Winning with Strategy - Exercise Preparation Slides OPM 52-3
PDF pp. 2–8 and 11–14; strategy statement, activity choices and decision tests
StanfordSaved learning summary
Leadership and Strategy The Necessity of Direction Amid Conflicting Priorities by Bill Barnett
Opening section on direction, conflicting priorities and practical strategy
These notes collect my interpretations and applications. The schools and authors retain their original teaching materials.