Strategy Tools

What is Strategy?
The Three Levels of Strategy

SWOT Analysis
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

The TOWS Matrix
Developing Strategic Options from an External-Internal Analysis

Porter’s Five Forces
Understanding Power in a Situation

PEST Analysis
Identifying "Big Picture" Opportunities and Threats

Critical Success Factors
Identifying the Things That Really Matter for Success

USP Analysis
Finding Your Competitive Position

Core Competence Analysis
Building Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Porter’s Diamond
Shaping Your Strategy to Reflect National Strengths and Weaknesses

Porter's Four Corners Model
Predicting Competitor Behavior

Kay's Distinctive Capabilities Framework
Using Relationships to Build Competitive Advantage

The ADL Matrix
How Industry Position Influences Your Strategy

Ohmae's 3C Model
Bringing Together Different Aspects of Strategic Thinking

VRIO Analysis
Making the Most of Organizational Resources

Competitive Intelligence
Understanding Your Competitive Position

Weisbord's Six-Box Model
A Starting Point for Diagnosing Organizational Issues

Kotler and Keller's Five Product Levels
Exceeding Customer Expectations

Developing Your Strategy
Finding Your Path to Success

Porter's Generic Strategies
Choosing Your Route to Competitive Advantage

Bowman’s Strategy Clock
Making Sense of Eight Competitive Positions

Mintzberg's 5 Ps of Strategy
Developing a Better Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy
Leaving Your Competition Far Behind

Scenario Analysis
Exploring Different Futures

Understanding Game Theory
Using Reason to Predict Future Behavior

The Value Disciplines Model
Basing Strategy on Value

Value-Based Management
Managing for the Long Term by Maximizing Value, Not Profit

The Business Motivation Model
Preparing a Resilient Business Plan

Disruptive Technologies
Recognize the Impact of New Products

Organization Design
Aligning Organizational Structure With Business Goals

The McKinsey 7S Framework
Ensuring That All Parts of Your Organization Work in Harmony

The EPRG Model
Growing Into a Global Company

Miles and Snow's Organizational Strategies
Aligning Organizational Structure and Strategy

Mintzberg's Organizational Configurations
Understanding the Structure of Your Organization

Strategic Alliances
Partnering for Mutual Benefit

Diversification
Reducing Business Risk and Expanding Market Size

Adizes' Corporate Lifecycle
Identifying the Patterns of Growth and Decline

The Boston Matrix
Focusing Effort to Give the Greatest Returns

The GE-McKinsey Matrix
Determining Investment Priorities

Porter's Value Chain
Understanding How Value is Created Within Organizations

Value Chain Analysis
Achieving Excellence in the Things That Matter

Mission Statements and Vision Statements
The Power of Purpose

Practical Business Planning
Understanding the Components of Future Success

The Pyramid of Purpose
Communicating Strategy Concisely

VMOST Analysis
Ensuring That Organizational Activities Deliver Your Vision of the Future

The Hoshin Planning System
Steering Everyone in the Right Direction

The Balanced Scorecard
Motivating Employees to Deliver Your Strategy

The Triple Bottom Line
Measuring Your Organization's Wider Impact

Corporate Governance
Keeping Organizations Accountable

Employer Branding
Creating a Worker-Friendly Culture

Simons' Seven Strategy Questions
Improving the Implementation of Your Strategy

Turnaround Management
Rescuing a Struggling Organization

The Outsourcing Decision Matrix
Analyzing the Make-or-Buy Decision

Working with Outsourced Suppliers
Communication and Clear Expectations Are Key

The Kraljic Portfolio Purchasing Model
Assessing Risk and Maximizing Profits

Procurement Management
Increasing the Strategic Value of Purchasing

Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)
Managing Suppliers Effectively

Words Used in... Outsourcing
A Glossary of Terms

10 Cs of Supplier Evaluation
Evaluating Potential Suppliers

Developing Your Marketing Strategy
Connecting Products With Customers

The Marketing Mix and 4 Ps
Understanding How to Position Your Market Offering

The 4S Web Marketing Mix
Considering Key Online Marketing Elements

Market Segmentation
Understanding Different Customer Needs

The Product Life Cycle
Managing Your Product to Maximize Success

The Product Diffusion Curve
Keeping Your Marketing Message Fresh

The Ansoff Matrix
Understanding the Different Risks of Different Options

The Sales Funnel
Keeping Control of Your Sales Pipeline

Customer Experience Mapping
Seeing Your Business Through the Eyes of Your Customers

The Brand Pyramid
Building Customer Loyalty

Keller's Brand Equity Model
Building a Powerful Brand

Kapferer's Brand Identity Prism
Identifying Your Brand's Voice

Corporate Social Responsibility
Benefiting Both Your Business and the Community

Lean Manufacturing
Working More Efficiently

Kaizen
Gaining the Full Benefits of Continuous Improvement

Kanban
Creating Efficiency in the Workplace

The Product-Process Matrix
Using the Right Process for the Volume of Work You're Doing

Just In Time (JIT)
Reducing Inventory, Minimizing Waste, and Responding to Your Customers

The 5S System
Reducing Waste and Increasing Productivity

Business Process Reengineering
Using Radical Change to Improve Organizational Performance

Value Stream Mapping
Making Improvements That Add Value

Achieving Economies of Scale
Understanding Why Bigger Can Be Better

The Innovation Circle
A Process for Introducing New Products and Services

The RATER Model
Five Ways to Measure Service

The Theory of Constraints (TOC)
Strengthening Your "Weakest Link"

Green Management
Taking Steps Towards A Greener Brand

Zero Defects
Getting It Right First Time

Crosby's 14 Steps for Improvement
Organizing Long Term Quality Improvement

Total Quality Management (TQM)
Delivering Quality at Every Level

Deming's 14-Point Philosophy
A Recipe for Total Quality

Six Sigma
Improving Quality Systematically

House of Quality Diagrams
Building Customer Satisfaction Into New Products

Benchmarking
Comparing Your Performance With the Best

Critical to Quality (CTQ) Trees
Translating Broad Needs to Requirements