Mar 20Chapter 7. Honda-Yamaha War: Natural SelectionWhat lessons can we learn from the Eastern approach to strategy when dealing with, for example, the kind of competition Honda represented for Britain’s champions in the US motorcycle industry? Somewhat fortunately, we have a case showing exactly what Honda did, a decade later, when their leading position was challenged…Strategy5 min read
Feb 7Removing your organisation’s biggest source of wasteIn any large organisation people are often building things that already exist somewhere else in the same organisation. They’re not doing this because they’re stupid. They’re re-building what you already have because they simply have no systematic way of knowing what other silos in the organisation are doing. …Wardley Maps3 min read
Jan 31How do you make your projects more successful?It may seem counterintuitive but, to increase your project team’s chances of creating something of value may require reducing budgets, team size and deadline. Because those projects with big budgets, big teams and deliverables in the far distant future are more likely to ask for extensions on all three rather…Wardley Maps3 min read
Dec 2, 2021Why AGILE is not THE answerA few weeks ago I wrote about how companies using Wardley Maps (well) for strategy, execution and organisational improvement often seem to be operating a decade or more ahead of others in the game. I discussed how the ‘Pioneer-Settler-Town Planner’ model in the Wardley Maps method (organising around different attitudes…7 min read
Nov 29, 2021Remove duplication & biasIn any large organisation there are people building things that already exist somewhere else in the organisation. They’re not doing this because they’re evil or stupid. They’re doing this because they simply have no systematic way of knowing what other silos in the organisation are doing. Left unchecked this situation…Wardley Maps2 min read
Nov 10, 2021How do you make your projects more successful?It may seem counterintuitive but, to increase your project team’s chances of creating something of value, may require reducing budgets, team size and deadlines. …Wardley Maps3 min read
Nov 4, 2021Get Ahead of the CurveWhen you use Wardley Maps for strategy, execution or organisational improvement — as we do with a select group of clients — one of the most surprising things is how far they are ahead of the rest of the game. …Wardley Maps4 min read
Nov 3, 2021Chapter 9. The Western Approach to StrategyThe long arc of Western economic supremacy made it the model for nations striving to modernise in the 20th century to emulate. Yet a series of crises in this young 21st century, coupled with the re-emergence of China, have led many to question the pre-eminence of all things Western. The…Strategy8 min read
Oct 20, 2021Chapter 8. The Eastern Approach to StrategyDespite being 2,500 years old The Art of War is, (at the time of writing) number 4 on Amazon’s ‘Strategy & Competition’ bestseller list. Modern strategists seek insights from the study of warfare as it shares two essential characteristics with business: Competition (with rivals) Uncertainty (due to not knowing the…8 min read
Oct 18, 2021Focus on user needsAn organisation creates value by satisfying the needs of users (customers, shareholders, employees, communities etc). In return users give organisations what they need (money, investment, commitment, support etc.). …Wardley Maps2 min read
