Books as Frameworks: Strategy & Innovation
Table of Contents
24 Assets (Daniel Priestley)
The Entrepreneur Journey
- The Journey
- The Entrepreneur Journey
- Income Follows Assets
- Tools vs Assets
- Asset Creation
- Passive Income
- Alchemy or Administration
- Change Your Thinking
- Profit and Loss vs Balance Sheet Thinking
24 Assets
Assets Overview
Intellectual Property Assets
- Asset 1: Content
- Asset 2: Methodology
- Asset 3: Registered Intellectual Property (IP)
- How Do You Rate Yourself?
- Rapid Action Steps
- Words from the Experts
Brand Assets
- Asset 4: The Philosophy
- Asset 5: Identity
- Asset 6: Ambassadors
- Rapid Action Steps
- Words from the Experts
Market Assets
- Asset 7: Positioning
- Asset 8: Channels
- Asset 9: Data
- Rapid Action Steps
- A Word from an Expert
Product Assets
- Asset 10: Gifts
- Asset 11: Product-For-Prospects (P4P)
- Asset 12: Core Product
- Asset 13: Products for Clients (P4C)
- Rapid Action Steps
- A Word from an Expert
Systems Assets
- Asset 14: Marketing and Sales Systems
- Asset 15: Management and Administration Systems
- Asset 16: Operations Systems
- Rapid Action Steps
Culture Assets
- Asset 17: Key People of Influence
- Asset 18: Sales and Marketing
- Asset 19: Management and Administration
- Asset 20: Technicians
- Rapid Action Steps
- A Word from an Expert
Funding Assets
- Asset 21: Business Plan
- Asset 22: Valuation
- Asset 23: Structure
- Asset 24: Risk Mitigation
- Rapid Action Steps
- A Word from an Expert
- Summary
- Summary Assets Are the Key
Asset Creation
What Are Your Core Assets?
- Farming for Assets
Building Your Assets
- Can You Build a House?
- Every Problem Is an Asset Deficiency
The Asset Creation Cycle
- Concepts and Ideas
- Construct a Briefing Document
- Select Your Suppliers
- Beta Version
- Commercial Version
- The Remarkable Version
- A Remarkable Business
- Black Belts Beat White Belts
- Environment Dictates Performance
- Access to Current Best Practices
- A Peer Group to Normalise High Standards
- External Accountability and Consequences
- Access to Resources
The Great Waves
- The Five Great Trends
Surf or Get Dumped
- The Surfer
- Paddling onto the Wave
- Riding Your Surfboard
- Selecting a Global Goal
- Asset Zero
7 Powers (Hamilton Helmer)
Strategy Statics
- Scale Economies
- Network Economies
- Counter-Positioning
- Switching Costs
- Branding
- Cornered Resource
- Process Power
Strategy Dynamics
- The Path to Power
- The Power Progression
America’s Most Successful Startups (Max Finger et al.)
Creating a Business
The Opportunities
- Types of Opportunities
- Opportunities based on a Paradigm Shift
- Opportunities based on a New Product or Business Model
- Opportunities based on a Me-too Product
- Opportunity Recognition
- Markets that change
- Markets that are badly understood
- Markets that are large
- Markets that are fast growing
- Markets where the Incumbent Players cannot move
- Markets where there is little Competition
- Process of Opportunity Recognition
- Intuitive Approach
- Analytical Approach
- Refinement Process
- Research Process
- General Advice on the Idea Generation Process
- Evaluation of a Business Idea
The Homework
- Defining the Market Need
- Defining the Customer
- Defining the Market Size
- Defining the Market Timing
The Window of Opportunity
The Background of the Entrepreneur
The Founders
The Role of the Founder
- Management of the Company
- Ownership of the Company
- Building a Sustainable Business
The Ideal Startup
Launching the Business
The Location
- The Advisors
- The Support Players
- Legal Counsel
- Intellectual Property
The Funding
- Milestone Financing
- Risk Identification and Elimination
- Sources of Funding
- Sources of Funding Bootstrapping
- Sources of Funding Sources of Outside Equity
- Angel Investors
- Venture Capital
- Corporate Investors
- Initial Public Offering
- Funding Strategy
- Choosing an Investor
- General Advice on the Funding Process
The Culture
- Importance of Culture
- Values
- People
- Recruiting People
- Attracting People
- Finding People
- Keeping People
- Dismissing People
- Mission
- Information Flow
- Free flow of information
- Open-door, walk-in Meetings
- Sitting in Cubicles
- Status Meetings and Reports
- Personal Whiteboards
- All-Hands-Meetings
- CEO Lunches and Employee Breakfasts
- Communication
- Formal and Informal Communication
- Direct and Open Communication
- Decision Making
- Result Orientation and Management-by-Objectives
- Key Characteristics of a Successful Culture
- A Team Work Culture
- An Egoless Culture
- A Meritocracy of Ideas
- A Risk Culture
- A “no status, no ego, blue-jeans” Culture
- A “don’t-let-the-others-down” Culture
- A Fun Culture
- A Family Culture
- Keeping the Culture when the Company is Growing
- Leadership
- Building a Vision
- Building Teams
- Reinforcing the Culture
- Creating a Sense of Urgency
- Qualities of a Leader
- The Management Team
- Technology and Market Orientation
- The Flexibility
- The Focus
- The Execution
- The Network
Growing the Business
- The Partners
- The Game for Mindshare
- The Breakthrough
- The First Customers
- The Competition
The Growth Management
- People
- Processes
- Management
- Communication
The Entrepreneur
- The Motivation
- The Doubts
- The Sacrifices
The Qualities of an Entrepreneur
- Visionary
- Confidence
- Team Spirit
- Risk attitude
- No Fear of Failure
- Ability to Learn
- Entrepreneurship is very personal
- Sense of Reality
- Persistence
- Commitment
- Experience
- Salesmanship
- Standing of an Entrepreneur
Blueprint to a Billion (David G. Thomson)
- The Blueprint Thesis: A Different Approach to Growth
Create and Sustain a Breakthrough Value Proposition
- The Blueprint Value Proposition
Create and Sustain Exponential Revenue Growth
- Exploit a High-Growth Market Segment
- Marquee Customers Shape the Revenue Powerhouse
- Leverage Big Brother Alliances for Breaking into New Markets
Seizing the Opportunity to Create Exponential Returns
- Becoming the Masters of Exponential Returns
- The Management Team: Inside-Outside Leadership
- The Board: Comprised of Essentials Experts
- Linking the 7 Essentials
- Blueprint Companies for the Next Decade and Your Part in Them: An Epilogue
Crossing the Chasm (Geoffrey A. Moore)
Discovering the Chasm
- Introduction: If Mark Zuckerberg Can Be a Billionaire
- High-Tech Marketing Illusion
- High-Tech Marketing Enlightenment
Crossing the Chasm
- The D-Day Analogy
- Target the Point of Attack
- Assemble the Invasion Force
- Define the Battle
- Launch the Invasion
- Conclusion: Leaving the Chasm Behind
Detonate (Geoff Tuff et al.)
Light The Fuse
- Tinderbox: Hazardous Unwritten Rules
- Spark: Acceleration of the Vicious Cycle
- Coordinates: Targeting the Blast
Blow Up Your Playbooks
- Dismantle Your P&L: Why Revenue Should Be the Last Thing You Worry About
- Trash the Calendar: A Strategic Planning Schedule Is Largely a Waste of Time
- Defy Expertise: Syndicated Data Create Zero Advantage
- Upend Insight: Customers Can’t Tell You What They Believe
- Lose Control: Discard Opportunity Management Systems
- Stomp Out Platitudes: Celebrating Failure Is an Excuse for Mediocrity
- Embrace Impermanence: Org Charts and Career Paths Are Past Their Sell-By Date
Build Something Better
- Where to Start: Pick Your Site to Apply the Detonate Mindset
- Implications for Leadership: Accelerate by Asking Better Questions
- Minimally Viable Thoughts
Good to Great (Jim Collins)
- Level 5 Leadership
- First Who… Then What
- Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith)
- The Hedgehog Concept (Simplicity within the Three Circles)
- A Culture of Discipline
- Technology Accelerators
- The Flywheel and the Doom Loop
It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small… It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow (Jason Jennings)
Fast Thinking
- Anticipate
- Spot Trends
- Put Every Idea Through the “Grinder”
- The Best Idea Wins
Fast Decisions
- Rules for Fast Decisions
- Blow Out the Bureaucracy
- Unbundle Everything
- Shuffle Portfolios
- Constantly Reassess Everything
Get to Market Faster
- Launch a Crusade
- Own and Exploit Your Competitive Advantage
- Get Vendors and Suppliers to Move Fast
- Stay Beneath the Radar
- Keep It Simple
- Institutionalize Innovation
- Get Other Fast People on Your Side
Sustaining Speed
- Prove the Math
- Be Ruthless with Resources
- Use a Central Scoreboard
- Stay Financially Flexible
- Use Narratives and Stories
- Play Your Own Game
- Don’t B.S. Yourself
- Stay Close to the Customer
- Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome
Jobs to be Done (Anthony W. Ulwick)
Theory
Why Do Innovation Projects Fail?: All companies want to satisfy their customer’s needs. So, what is standing in the way? The problem is there is no agreement on what a “need” even is.
Jobs-To-Be-Done Needs Framework: A key implication of Jobs-to-be-Done Theory is that it provides a framework for categorizing, defining, capturing, and organizing the 6 types of customer needs.
- The Core Functional Job-to-be-Done
- Desired Outcomes on the Core Functional Job
- Related Jobs
- Emotional and Social Jobs
- Consumption Chain Jobs
- Financial Desired Outcomes
The Jobs-To-Be-Done Growth Strategy Matrix: New products and services win when they get a job done better and/or more cheaply. This observation leads to five unique growth strategies companies can employ to address opportunities in a market.
- Differentiated Strategy
- Dominant Strategy
- Disruptive Strategy
- Discrete Strategy
- Sustaining Strategy
Process
Outcome-Driven Innovation®: Following the Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) process enables companies to conceptualize new solutions, helping customers get a job done better and/or more cheaply. It has an 86% success rate because it begins with a deep understanding of the job-to-be-done and employs unique quantitative research methods that enable companies to analyze markets in ways that have never before been possible.
- Define the Customer
- Define the Job-to-be-Done
- Uncover Customer Needs
- The Universal Job Map
- The Desired Outcome Statement
- Find Segments of Opportunity
- Define the Value Proposition
- Conduct the Competitive Analysis
- Formulate the Innovation Strategy
- Target Hidden Growth Opportunities
- The Opportunity Algorithm
- The Opportunity Landscape
- Formulate the Market Strategy
- Formulate the Product Strategy
Case Studies: The ODI process has been employed throughout the world in hundreds of companies. Here are a few stories that describe the ODI process in action, what hidden opportunities the process reveals, and the results it delivers.
- Microsoft
- Kroll Ontrack
- Arm & Hammer
- Bosch
- Abbott Medical Optics
- Hussmann
Practice
Becoming an ODI Practitioner: To effectively execute an ODI project, an ODI Practitioner must have the skills and instruction to do so. Listed in this chapter are the 84 steps an ODI Practitioner must execute to produce a winning outcome-driven growth strategy. Learn what it takes to put Jobs-to-be-Done Theory into practice and become an effective ODI Practitioner.
- Understand Your Customer’s Job-to-be-Done
- Discover Hidden Opportunities in Your Market
- Use New Customer Insights to Drive Growth
The Language of Jobs-To-Be-Done: A common language of innovation has the power to unite an organization in its efforts to build a competency in innovation. These are the terms we use to define the concepts that comprise Jobs-to-be-Done Theory and Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI).
Monopoly Rules (Milind M. Lele)
The Truth About Monopolies
- No Trespassing
- The Two Dimensions of Monopoly
- Economics 101
- It’s Not About “Sustainable Competitive Advantage”
- Monopoly Flavors
- Barriers That Protect Monopolies
- The New Competition and the Rise of the Situational Monopoly
- Monopolies Drive Market Value
- Monopoly Kaleidoscope
The Monopoly Rules
- Understand Your Current Monopolies
- Defend Your Current Monopolies
- Discover the Next Monopoly
- Seize the Monopolies in Your Own Backyard
- Work Backwards
- Focus on Speed to Space
- Keep Moving: Mastering the Art of Monopoly Leapfrog
- What to Do When the Monopoly Ends
Running Lean (Ash Maurya)
Design
- Deconstruct Your Idea on a Lean Canvas
- Stress Test Your Idea for Desirability
- Stress Test Your Idea for Viability
- Stress Test Your Idea for Feasibility
- Communicate Your Idea Clearly and Concisely
Validation
- Validate Your Idea Using 90-Day Cycles
- Kick Off Your First 90-Day Cycle
- Understand Your Customers Better Than They Do
- Design Your Solution to Cause a Switch
- Deliver a Mafia Offer Your Customers Cannot Refuse
- Run a 90-Day Cycle Review
Growth
- Get Ready to Launch
- Make Happy Customers
- Find Your Growth Rocket
Service Innovation (Lance A. Bettencourt)
Customer Needs That Drive Service Innovation
- How Do Service Customers Define Value?
- How Can Services Create Value?
- How Is a Successful Service Strategy Developed?
Discover Opportunities for New Service Innovation
- Discover Why Your Service Is Hired
- Discover Why Your Service Might Be Hired
- Discover Other Jobs of Customers
- Discover Experience Jobs of Customers
- Discover Emotional Jobs
- Discover New and Emerging Jobs
Discover Opportunities for Core Service Innovation
- Define the Core Job
- Map the Core Job
- Uncover Outcomes
- Define a Core Job Across Complementary Solutions
- Define a Core Job Across Substitutes
- Relate Outcomes to Emotional Jobs
Discover Opportunities for Service Delivery Innovation
- The Universal Job Map for Obtaining Service
- Discover Service Delivery Innovation Opportunities
- Interpersonal Service Encounters
Discover Opportunities for Supplementary Service Innovation
- Discover Supplementary Service Innovation Opportunities Related to the Core Job
- Discover Supplementary Service Innovation Opportunities Related to Consumption Chain Jobs
- Discover Supplementary Service Innovation Opportunities Related to Product Support
- Discover Supplementary Service Innovation Opportunities of Related Job Executors
Discover Opportunities for Service Delivery Innovation: The Provider Perspective
- The Universal Job Map for Providing Service
- The Service Provider Perspective
Discover Ways to Differentiate Service Delivery
- The Dimensions of Service Delivery
- Discover Points of Service Delivery Differentiation
Define Innovative Service Concepts
- Develop a Service Strategy
- Define Innovative Service Concepts
Simplify (Richard Koch)
Proposition simplification
Step one: Easier to use
- Eliminate
- Make intuitive and easier
- Make faster
- Make smaller / lighter / more portable
- Make easier to obtain
Step two: More useful
- Vary performance - Make more or less powerful
- Improve quality
- Add new capabilities without adversely affecting ease of use
- Provide a wider range of products
- Personalize
Step three: More aesthetically appealing
- More aesthetically appealing
Price simplification
Simplifying product redesign
- Subtract features
- Reduce variety
- Add cheap benefits
Price simplification Business system redesign
- Automate
- Orchestrate
- Co-opt customers
- Sell direct
- Use simpler technology
International scale-up
Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. (Colin C. Campbell)
Start
Story
- Ideas Are Everywhere
- From Idea to Action
- Catching the Next Wave Is Critical
- Focus on Something You (and Others) Love
- Pick an Idea That Can Scale
- Can You Build a Moat around Your Idea
- Stage Gates
People
- First Hires: Pay Your People with Love, Ownership, and Freedom
- Hire People Who Are “Different”
- Hire Do-It-Yourself Employees
Money
- Proving Your Concept
- Paying for Your Idea
- Becoming a Customer-Funded Startup
- Cash Is the Oxygen That Keeps Your Business Alive
Systems
- The Four Sticky Note Business Plan
- Why Startups Fail
Scale
Story
- Scale Quickly, Kill Quickly
- Scale in Zeros
- Find Your X Factor
- Prove It
- Promote It
- Finding the Right Distribution/Sales Channel
People
- Profile Everyone, Especially Yourself
- Hiring Great Leaders
- Hiring a Great Sales Team
Money
- Proof Sells
- Perfecting the Pitch
- The Right Funding for the Right Situation at the Right Time
- The Problem with Venture (Vulture) Capital
- Raise Money by Saving Money
Systems
- The Value of Coaching
- Scale Your Culture
- Strategic Planning and Execution
- Goal Setting
- Transforming into a Sales Organization
- Growth through Acquisition
- Rely on Systems to Scale
- Catching the Break: Maximize Luck
- Minor Majors (a.k.a. Growth Hacks)
- Why Startups Fail to Scale
Exit
Story
- The Case for Selling
- When the Rules Change, Change with the Rules
- Types of Buyers
- Timing Is Half the Value
- Maximize the Value of the Exit
People
- It’s Not About You
Money
- Liquidity or Control
- The Negotiation
Systems
- Sell Your Systems
Repeat
Story
- What Propels a Serial Entrepreneur
- Ideas Are Everywhere Again
People
- Track Your A Players
Money
- Dress for Success
- Using Other People’s Money to Scale
Systems
- Use Copy and Paste Systems
- Make a Difference
- The Toll of Entrepreneurial Life
- Final Thoughts
Ten Types of Innovation (Larry Keeley et al.)
Configuration
Network
- Alliances Innovations
- Collaboration Innovations
- Complementary Partnering Innovations
- Consolidation Innovations
- Coopetition Innovations
- Franchising Innovations
- Merger / Acquisition Innovations
- Open Innovation Innovations
- Secondary Markets Innovations
- Supply Chain Integration Innovations
Process
- Crowdsourcing Innovations
- Flexible Manufacturing Innovations
- Intellectual Property Innovations
- Lean Production Innovations
- Localization Innovations
- Logistics Systems Innovations
- On-Demand Production Innovations
- Predictive Analytics Innovations
- Process Automation Innovations
- Process Efficiency Innovations
- Process Standardization Innovations
- Strategic Design Innovations
- User-Generated Innovations
Profit Model
- Ad-Supported Innovations
- Auction Innovations
- Bundled Pricing Innovations
- Cost Leadership Innovations
- Disaggregated Pricing Innovations
- Financing Innovations
- Flexible Pricing Innovations
- Float Innovations
- Forced Scarcity Innovations
- Freemium Innovations
- Installed Base Innovations
- Licensing Innovations
- Membership Innovations
- Metered Use Innovations
- Microtransactions Innovations
- Premium Innovations
- Risk Sharing Innovations
- Scaled Transactions Innovations
- Subscription Innovations
- Switchboard Innovations
- User-Defined Innovations
Structure
- Asset Standardization Innovations
- Competency Center Innovations
- Corporate University Innovations
- Decentralized Management Innovations
- Incentive System Innovations
- IT Integration Innovations
- Knowledge Management Innovations
- Organizational Design Innovations
- Outsourcing Innovations
Experience
Brand
- Brand Extension Innovations
- Brand Leverage Innovations
- Certification Innovations
- Co-Branding Innovations
- Component Branding Innovations
- Private Label Innovations
- Transparency Innovations
- Values Alignment Innovations
Channel
- Context Specific Innovations
- Cross-Selling Innovations
- Diversification Innovations
- Experience Center Innovations
- Flagship Store Innovations
- Go Direct Innovations
- Indirect Distribution Innovations
- Multi-Level Marketing Innovations
- Non-Traditional Channels Innovations
- On-Demand Innovations
- Pop-Up Preference Innovations
Customer Engagement
- Autonomy and Authority Innovations
- Community and Belonging Innovations
- Curation Innovations
- Experience Automation Innovations
- Experience Enabling Innovations
- Experience Simplification Innovations
- Mastery Innovations
- Personalization Innovations
- Status and Recognition Innovations
- Whimsey and Personality Innovations
Service
- Added Value Innovations
- Concierge Innovations
- Guarantee Innovations
- Lease or Loan Innovations
- Loyalty Programs Innovations
- Personalized Service Innovations
- Self-Service Innovations
- Superior Service Innovations
- Supplementary Service Innovations
- Total Expierience Management Innovations
- Try Before You Buy Innovations
- User Communities / Support Systems Innovations
Offering
- Added Functionality Innovations
- Conservation Innovations
- Customization Innovations
- Ease of Use Innovations
- Engaging Functionality Innovations
- Environmental Sensitivity Innovations
- Feature Aggregation Innovations
- Focus Innovations
- Performance Simplification Innovations
- Safety Innovations
- Styling Innovations
- Superior Product Innovations
Product System
- Complements Innovations
- Extension/Plug-ins Innovations
- Integrated Offering Innovations
- Modular Systems Innovations
- Product / Service Platforms Innovations
- Product Bundling Innovations
The Bezos Letters (Steve Anderson et al.)
Growth Cycle: Test
- Principle 1: Encourage “Successful Failure”
- Principle 2: Bet on Big Ideas
- Principle 3: Practice Dynamic Invention and Innovation
Growth Cycle: Build
- Principle 4: Obsess Over Customers
- Principle 5: Apply Long-Term Thinking
- Principle 6: Understand Your Flywheel
Growth Cycle: Accelerate
- Principle 7: Generate High-Velocity Decisions
- Principle 8: Make Complexity Simple
- Principle 9: Accelerate Time with Technology
- Principle 10: Promote Ownership
Growth Cycle: Scale
- Principle 11: Maintain Your Culture
- Principle 12: Focus on High Standards
- Principle 13: Measure What Matters, Question What’s Measured, and Trust Your Gut
- Principle 14: Believe It’s Always “Day 1”
- A Risk and Growth Mindset
- Beyond Amazon
The Cold Start Problem (Andrew Chen)
- The Cold Start Problem
- The Tipping Point
- Escape Velocity
- The Ceiling
- The Moat
The Four Steps to the Epiphany (Steve Blank)
- The Path To Disaster: The Product Development Model
- The Path To Epiphany: The Customer Development Model
- Customer Discovery
- Customer Validation
- Customer Creation
- Company Building
The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs (Carmine Gallo)
What Would Steve Do?
Principle 1: Do What You Love
- Follow Your Heart
- Think Differently About Your Career
Principle 2: Put a Dent in the Universe
- Inspire Evangelists
- Think Differently About Your Vision
Principle 3: Kick-Start Your Brain
- Seek Out New Experiences
- Think Differently About How You Think
Principle 4: Sell Dreams, Not Products
- See Genius in Their Craziness
- Think Differently About Your Customers
Principle 5: Say No to 1,000 Things
- Simplicity Is the Ultimate Sophistication
- Think Differently About Design
Principle 6: Create Insanely Great Experiences
- We’re Here to Help You Grow
- Think Differently About Your Brand Experience
Principle 7: Master the Message
- The World’s Greatest Corporate Storyteller
- Think Differently About Your Story
The Lean Startup (Eric Ries)
Vision
- Start
- Define
- Learn
- Experiment
Steer
- Leap
- Test
- Measure
- Pivot (or Persevere)
Accelerate
- Batch
- Grow
- Adapt
- Innovate
The Mom Test (Rob Fitzpatrick)
- The Mom Test
- Avoiding bad data
- Asking important questions
- Keeping it casual
- Commitment and advancement
- Finding conversations
- Choosing your customers
- Running the process