Management in Action  >>  Strategy

►  WHAT THE PLAYING FIELD LOOKS LIKE NOW

• Who are the competitors in this business, large and small, new and old?
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• Who has what share, globally and in each market? Where do we fit in?
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• What are the characteristics of this business? Is it commodity or high value, or somewhere in between? Is it long cycle or short? Where is it on the growth curve? What are the drivers of profitability?
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• What are the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor? How good are their products? How much does each one spend on R&D? How big is each sales force? How performance-driven is each culture?
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• Who are this business’s main customers and how do they buy?
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►  WHAT THE COMPETITION HAS BEEN UP TO

• What has each competitor done in the past year to change the playing field?
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• Has anyone introduced game-changing new products, new technologies, or a new distribution channel?
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• Are there any new entrants, and what have they been up to in the past year?
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►  WHAT YOU’VE BEEN UP TO

• What have you done in the past year to change the competitive playing field?
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• Have you bought a company, introduced a new product, stolen a competitor’s key salesperson, or licensed a new technology from a start-up?
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• Have you lost any competitive advantages that you once had – a great salesperson, a special product, a proprietary technology?
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►  WHAT’S AROUND THE CORNER

• What scares you most in the year ahead -- what one or two things could a competitor do to nail you?
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• What new products or technologies could your competitors launch that might change the game?
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• What M&A deals would knock you off your feet?
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►  WHAT’S YOUR WINNING MOVE?

• What can you do to change the playing field – is it an acquisition, a new product, globalization?
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• What can you do to make customers stick to you more than ever before and more than anyone else?
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