Strategy Basics
What strategy is, mission and vision, SWOT, competitive advantage and choosing where to compete.
What Business Strategy Is (and Isn't): A Guide for Small Firms
What strategy really means for a small business, how it differs from goals, plans and hard work, and a quick test you can apply to your own business.
Read · 6 min read →Strategy BasicsMission, Vision and Values: Statements That Actually Guide Decisions
How to write mission, vision and values statements a small team can actually use, why most fail, and how to tell real values from wishes.
Read · 5 min read →Strategy BasicsSWOT Analysis Done Well: From Four Lists to Real Choices
How to prepare, run and follow up a SWOT analysis for a small business, avoid its common traps, and turn the grid into strategies with a TOWS matrix.
Read · 5 min read →Strategy BasicsCompetitive Advantage: Porter's Generic Strategies for Small Firms
Michael Porter's cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategies explained for small businesses, plus the stuck-in-the-middle trap and how to avoid it.
Read · 5 min read →Strategy BasicsChoosing Your Target Customers: Where to Compete and Where Not To
How a small business can define, compare and choose customer segments using evidence, and why deciding whom not to chase matters as much.
Read · 6 min read →Strategy BasicsPorter's Five Forces: Sizing Up Your Industry as a Small Business
Porter's five competitive forces explained in plain terms, with a step-by-step review a small business can run in an afternoon and ways to use the results.
Read · 5 min read →