The meaning of strategy
The most strategic thing you can think of is choosing what not to do among all your options. At least that’s what Michael Porter, one of the leading figures in the strategy world, would say. To the author of Porter’s Five Forces, strategy is about understanding the trade-offs between what is available to do. If knowing what not to do is important, understanding how to get things done is critical. Another way to understand strategy is to view it as a cohesive set of actions that lead to meeting a goal. Take Toyota, a well-known automobile manufacturer. In the 1980s, Toyota decided to change the way they operated. They needed to improve production efficiency in the face of growing competition. To achieve that, they came up with the lean manufacturing approach, a methodology still followed today. Another example is what Netflix, a popular video streaming service, did when they realized their DVD rental business was dying. They had to reinvent themselves...
