Updating a classic formula for strategic success: focus, alignment, repeatability and leadership

Abstract

Conceptual article

Purpose

The tempting luster of new business ideas has led many executives to take their eyes off the basics of positioning, and instead undertake seemingly inspired initiatives that eventually destroy value. This “Masterclass” aims to put attention back on the fundamentals of strategic positioning by analyzing how the insights in four recent books are complementary.

Design/methodology/approach

The Masterclass identifies a classic formula for strategic success – focus, alignment, repeatability and leadership. The featured readings that support the formula are: Understanding Michael Porter – The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy by Joan Magretta; Repeatability – Building Enduring Businesses for a World of Constant Change by Chris Zook and James Allen; The Strategist – Be the Leader Your Business Needs by Cynthia A. Montgomery; and The IKEA Edge – Building Global Growth and Social Good at the World's Most Iconic Home Store by Anders Dahlvig.

Findings

Effective strategic positioning must be both economically convincing and emotionally compelling so leaders can communicate it throughout the organization in a way that is clear, energizing and empowering. The leader makes a difference by infusing a company's positioning with a strong sense of purpose, refocusing the organization when it starts to stray off track and repositioning it when its original positioning has run its course.

Practical implications

A key lesson is the value of repeatability. Most companies that sustained a modest level of profitable growth over the last decade have done it by replicating an easily recognizable model that recreates their strongest strategic advantage in new contexts. The virtue of such an approach lies in the way that it turns the sources of differentiation into routines, behaviors and activity systems that everyone in the organization can understand and follow.

Originality/value

Managers will appreciate this insightful back‐to‐basics approach that both simplifies their choices and expands their opportunities.

Citation

Leavy, B. (2013), "Updating a classic formula for strategic success: focus, alignment, repeatability and leadership", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 18-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878571311290043