The cutting edge of the mind is the hand.
That means: action matters.
When all else fails, ACT.
Another word for action is strategy. Strategy is disciplined action.
I have created 16 strategies. These sixteen strategies are off the shelf strategies, meaning the strategies are already thought out, labeled, and explained. All you have to do is select the best strategy for the goal you want to accomplish.
The sixteen strategies are broken into two groups: inside and outside strategies. Inside means you do not engage the competition. Outside means you engage the competition.
Eight Inside Strategies:
1. Product Strategy: Break your product down to its component parts. Improve each component, one by one.
2. Technology strategy: You either play a par game, meaning you introduce just enough technology to keep up with the market, or you try to be the first to introduce a new technology.
3. Human Strategy: You can hire extremely talented people, who are known for getting things done. Or, you can release extremely low productivity people.
4. Financial Strategy: There are only two ways to work with money. You either cut expenses, or grow revenue.
5. Organizational Strategy: When nothing seems to be working, start changing things, anything.
6. Ideation Strategy: When you need new money, come up with new ideas. New money does not exist without new ideas.
7. Marketing Strategy: Marketing means you have secured the business of a defined population. There are two populations. You can secure all of one person’s business, or you can secure a sliver from many people.
8. Milk and Maintain: When you have steady profits, milk them, and then invest in something new and inexpensive.
Eight Outside Strategies:
1. Niche Strategy: Go to where the competition isn’t, and claim number one status.
2. Value Add: When there’s no difference between your product and the competition’s product, add something extra and sell that.
3. Fortress: When you are not only number one in your category, but the only one, continue to invest to stay there, and disrupt any new entry into your space.
4. Copy Cat: When your product “sucks”, copy the competition’s product, preferably the product of a Fortress player.
5. Bold Surprise: Pulling off a surprise brings in new customers.
6. Strength Against Weakness: Find your competitor’s weakness, and hit it hard and often.
7. Buy The Competition: Control the market by buying the competition.
8. Dumping: Undercut the competition’s prices until they fold, then raise your prices. (Illegal under certain conditions.)