April 2005
Designing strategy
Posted by Grant Brewer on 01 Apr 2005 | Comments (0)
That approach to strategy epitomised by Gary Hamel and CK Prahalad has often been referred to in this column. Their approach encourages organisations to reinvent their future rather than build their strategy purely as a response to the industry circumstances that they find themselves in. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but an interesting trend has emerged over recent years that links innovative strategy with innovative product or service design.
Apple Computer, Inc is one company that demonstrates this trend more than most: its innovative product design has assisted it to carve out a new set of markets for portable music players, computers and software. And they did this from a position of weakness since although Apple has always enjoyed a strong brand, they have very low market share. Sony is another example. They pioneered a design oriented strategy when they launched the Walkman in the early eighties, creating a new market that has grown significantly since then. In the service industry Virgin has embedded the design and position of their brand into every service they deliver. Boutique hotel chains provide another example of design oriented service delivery.