Strategy & Competitive Analysis
Table of Contents
- Workflow
- Strategic Frameworks Overview
- Competitive Analysis Overview
- Common Patterns
- Guardrails
- Quick Reference
Core approach -- Good Strategy Kernel (Rumelt): Diagnosis (what's the challenge) → Guiding Policy (overall approach) → Coherent Actions (specific coordinated steps).
Example: SaaS startup entering crowded market → Diagnosis: commoditized features, price competition, high CAC. Guiding Policy: vertical specialization (healthcare) + product-led growth. Coherent Actions: build HIPAA compliance, create compliance templates, offer free tier, invest in SEO for "healthcare SaaS".
Workflow
Copy this checklist and track your progress:
Step 1: Frame strategic question
Clarify the strategic question, business context (industry, stage, constraints), competitive landscape, and success criteria. See Common Patterns for typical question types.
Step 2: Choose framework(s)
For industry/competitive structure → Use Porter's 5 Forces. For positioning → Use Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas or Value Chain Analysis. For overall strategy → Use Good Strategy kernel. For multiple options → Use SWOT per option. See Strategic Frameworks Overview and resources/methodology.md [blocked] for framework selection guidance.
Step 3: Conduct analysis
For straightforward competitive analysis → Use resources/template.md [blocked]. For complex multi-framework strategy → Study resources/methodology.md [blocked] for integrated approach. Gather data (competitor research, market analysis, customer insights), apply framework systematically, document findings with evidence.
Step 4: Synthesize insights
Apply Good Strategy kernel: Diagnosis (core challenge from analysis), Guiding Policy (overall approach to address challenge), Coherent Actions (3-5 specific coordinated steps). Ensure coherence (actions reinforce each other, support guiding policy, address diagnosis).
Step 5: Validate and create action plan
Self-assess using resources/evaluators/rubric_strategy_and_competitive_analysis.json [blocked]. Check: diagnosis grounded in evidence, guiding policy addresses root challenge, actions coherent and specific, competitive positioning clear, assumptions explicit, risks identified. Create strategy-and-competitive-analysis.md with strategy summary, supporting analysis, action plan with owners/timelines.
Strategic Frameworks Overview
Framework Selection:
- Single product launch → Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas + Competitive Profiling
- Market entry decision → Porter's 5 Forces + Playing to Win
- Annual strategic planning → Good Strategy Kernel + SWOT
- Turnaround/crisis → Good Strategy Kernel (diagnosis critical)
- Portfolio management → BCG Matrix + Resource allocation
See resources/methodology.md [blocked] for detailed framework application guidance.
Competitive Analysis Overview
Competitor Profiling:
- Identify competitors: Direct (same solution), Indirect (different solution, same job), Potential (adjacent markets, new entrants)
- Profile each: Product/features, Pricing, Target customers, Positioning/messaging, Strengths/weaknesses, Strategy inference, Financial health, Recent moves
- Analyze: SWOT per competitor, Competitive positioning map (2x2: price vs features, etc.), Share of wallet, Win/loss patterns
Porter's 5 Forces:
- Competitive Rivalry: Number of competitors, market growth rate, differentiation, switching costs, exit barriers
- Threat of New Entrants: Barriers to entry (capital, technology, brand, regulation, network effects)
- Threat of Substitutes: Alternative solutions, price-performance trade-offs, switching costs
- Bargaining Power of Buyers: Concentration, price sensitivity, switching costs, backward integration threat
- Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Concentration, uniqueness, switching costs, forward integration threat
Output: Industry attractiveness (high/medium/low profit potential), key competitive dynamics, strategic implications.
Competitive Moats (sustainable advantages):
- Network effects: Value increases with more users (platforms, marketplaces)
- Switching costs: High cost to change providers (data lock-in, integration, learning curve)
- Brand: Strong brand recognition and loyalty
- Cost advantages: Scale economies, proprietary technology, favorable access to resources
- Regulatory: Licenses, patents, compliance barriers
Common Patterns
Pattern 1: Market Entry Strategy
- Diagnosis: Assess market using Porter's 5 Forces + competitive profiling
- Guiding Policy: Choose positioning (Blue Ocean or competitive response)
- Coherent Actions: Go-to-market, product roadmap, pricing, partnerships
Pattern 2: Competitive Response
- Diagnosis: Analyze competitor threat (new entrant, feature launch, price cut)
- Guiding Policy: Defend, ignore, or leapfrog
- Coherent Actions: Feature parity, differentiation doubling-down, or new positioning
Pattern 3: Strategic Planning (Annual)
- Diagnosis: Current state SWOT + market trends + competitive landscape
- Guiding Policy: Focus areas (3-5 strategic themes) for next year
- Coherent Actions: OKRs, initiatives, resource allocation
Pattern 4: Differentiation Strategy
- Diagnosis: Competitive positioning map + customer needs analysis
- Guiding Policy: Differentiation axis (vertical, feature set, experience, business model)
- Coherent Actions: Product roadmap, marketing messaging, pricing structure
Guardrails
Evidence-Based:
- Ground diagnosis in data (market research, customer interviews, competitor analysis)
- State assumptions explicitly (market size, growth rate, competitive response)
- Distinguish facts from hypotheses
- Cite sources for key claims
Coherence:
- Actions must reinforce each other (not independent initiatives)
- Actions must support guiding policy
- Guiding policy must address diagnosis (not aspirational goals)
- Strategy must be internally consistent (no contradictions)
Realism:
- Acknowledge constraints (resources, capabilities, time, competition)
- Identify risks and mitigation plans
- Avoid wishful thinking ("if we just execute perfectly...")
- Test strategy against competitive response scenarios
Specificity:
- Diagnosis: specific challenge (not "we need to grow" but "customer acquisition cost exceeds LTV in current market")
- Guiding Policy: clear approach (not "be customer-focused" but "vertical specialization in healthcare")
- Coherent Actions: concrete steps with owners and timelines (not "improve product" but "build HIPAA compliance by Q2, led by Security Team")
Differentiation:
- Strategy must be defensible against competition
- Identify sustainable competitive advantages (moats)
- Avoid "best practices" that competitors can easily copy
- Explain why this strategy is hard for competitors to replicate
Quick Reference
Inputs Required:
- Strategic question or decision to make
- Business context (industry, stage, goals, constraints)
- Competitive landscape (who are competitors, market dynamics)
- Available resources and capabilities
Frameworks to Use:
- Industry analysis → Porter's 5 Forces
- Overall strategy → Good Strategy Kernel
- Positioning → Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas, Value Chain Analysis
- Portfolio → BCG Matrix
- Competitor analysis → SWOT, Competitive Profiling
Outputs Produced:
strategy-and-competitive-analysis.mdwith:- Strategic question and context
- Analysis (frameworks applied, findings, evidence)
- Strategy summary (diagnosis, guiding policy, coherent actions)
- Competitive positioning
- Action plan (initiatives, owners, timelines, success metrics)
- Assumptions, risks, mitigations
Resources:
- Quick competitive analysis → resources/template.md [blocked]
- Complex multi-framework strategy → resources/methodology.md [blocked]
- Quality validation → resources/evaluators/rubric_strategy_and_competitive_analysis.json [blocked]
Minimum Quality Standard:
- Diagnosis grounded in evidence (not assumptions)
- Guiding policy addresses root challenge (not symptoms)
- Coherent actions specific and mutually reinforcing
- Competitive analysis rigorous (Porter's 5 Forces or equivalent)
- Assumptions explicit, risks identified with mitigations
- Average rubric score ≥ 3.5/5 before delivering
