Hey, Nick here! In this newsletter, I curate insights and timeless principles on how to build great products. You’ll improve your product skills with every issue.

Here’s a framework for you today…

Playing to Win

Playing to win is the strategic framework that A.G Lafley and Roger Martin put in place at Proctor and Gamble. Lafley was the CEO of P&G from 2000 to 2010 and Roger Martin was a consultant who advised Lafley during his time as CEO. 

There is a cascading choice of 5 questions that you should ask to define your strategy. These questions should be asked at every level of the organization. These questions should be asked for your specific product, which rolls up to the group of products for your company, and eventually to the corporate level across all functions.

What is our winning aspiration?

This defines the purpose of your product or organization. There is an underlying assumption that you are playing to win, not just to play. You should be trying to be the best at what you do. Your winning aspiration should have a deeper connection to what the organization exists to do. It’s helpful to start with a customer lens when creating your winning aspiration.

It’s important to recognize that your winning aspiration isn’t your strategy. Without detailing how you plan on achieving your aspiration, it is left unsupported. Corporate jargon anyone can create. The first step is to define what you are trying to do and then you can explain how you’ll get there.

Where will we play?

Where to play is about understanding the possible playing fields you have to choose from and picking the best one. This requires a deep and honest assessment of understanding your users, your competition, and your capabilities. Picking where you won’t play can be as valuable as picking where you will play.

Some things to consider in selecting where to play:

• Geography. In what countries or regions will you seek to compete?

• Product type. What kinds of products and services will you offer?

• Consumer segment. What groups of consumers will you target? In which price tier? Meeting which consumer needs?

• Distribution channel. How will you reach your customers? What channels will you use?

• Vertical stage of production. In what stages of productions will you engage? Where along the value chain? How broadly or narrowly?

How will we win?

If you can’t come up with a credible way of how you will win in your field, then find a new field or stop playing. The goal should be to create a sustainable competitive advantage. You could either be a low cost player where you compete on price or you can charge more for differentiated services. 

What capabilities must be in place?

An organization's core capabilities enable it to bring its where to play and how to win choices to life. It isn’t likely that one capability will create a sustained competitive advantage, rather a collection of capabilities should reinforce each other. According to Michael Porter “strategic position is contained in a set of tailored activities designed to deliver it.”       

What management systems are required?

Senior management often creates a beautiful strategy and they expect to see action immediately from their teams. They could answer the first 4 questions beautifully, but if there are no management systems in place to support the choices, they will all fail. “Without supporting structures, systems, and measures, strategy remains a wish list, a set of goals that may or may not ever be achieved.” 

End Note

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Have a great day,

Nick