The winning aspiration broadly defines the scope of the firm’s activities; where to play and how to win define the specific activities of the organization—what the firm will do, and where and how it will do this, to achieve its aspirations. Where to play represents the set of choices that narrow the competitive field. The questions to be asked focus on where the company will compete—in which markets, with which customers and consumers, in which channels, in which product categories, and at which vertical stage or stages of the industry in question. This set of questions is vital; no company can be all things to all people and still win, so it is important to understand which where-to-play choices will best enable the company to win.

Two questions flow from and support the heart of strategy: (1) what capabilities must be in place to win, and (2) what management systems are required to support the strategic choices?

Considering the dynamic feedback loop between all five choices, strategy isn’t easy. But it is doable. A clear and powerful framework for thinking about choices is a helpful start for managers and other leaders intent on improving the strategy for their business or function. Strategy needn’t be the purview of a small set of experts. It can be demystified into a set of

five important questions that can (and should) be asked at every level of the business: What is your winning aspiration? Where should you play? How can you win there? What capabilities do you need? What management systems would support it all? These choices, which can be understood as a strategic choice cascade, can be captured on a single page.

They can create a shared understanding of your company’s strategy and what must be done to achieve it.

CHAPTER SEVEN: Think Through Strategy

“As you begin articulating your strategic choice cascade, the obvious place to start is at the top. We’ve argued that it is essential to define a winning aspiration up front, and it does make sense to begin thinking about strategy by defining the purpose of your enterprise; without having an initial definition of winning, it is difficult to assess the value of any subsequent choice. You need a winning aspiration against which you can weigh differentchoices. But remember that strategy is an iterative process, and you’ll need to return to refine your winning aspiration in the context of the subsequent choices. So, rather than dwell on crafting the perfect definition of winning, sketch a prototype, with the understanding that you will return to it later with the rest of the cascade in mind. Then consider the real work of strategy as beginning with where to play and how to win—the very heart of strategy. These are the choices that actually define what you will do, and where

you will do it, so as to generate competitive advantage.” (Lafley and Martin, “Playing to

Win”, p.159-160)

“Ultimately, there are four dimensions you need to think about to choose where to play

and how to win:

• The industry. What is the structure of your industry and the attractiveness of its segments?

• Customers. What do your channel and end customers value?

• Relative position. How does your company fare, and how could it fare, relative to the competition?

• Competition. What will your competition do in reaction to your chosen course of action? These four dimensions can be understood through a framework we call the strategy logic

flow, which poses seven questions across the four dimensions.

CONCLUSION: The Endless Persuit of Winning

“For your own company, ask (and honestly answer):

• Have you defined winning, and are you crystal clear about your winning aspiration?

• Have you decided where you can play to win (and just as decisively where you will not play)?

• Have you determined how, specifically, you will win where you choose to play?

• Have you pinpointed and built your core capabilities in such a way that they enable your where-to-play and how-to-win choices?

• Do your management systems and key measures support your other four strategic

choices?