Business strategy coaching combining Porter, Christensen, Helmer, Thompson, and legendary founder playbooks. Use when: (1) facing strategic decisions (market entry, pivots, competitive response), (2) analyzing competitive dynamics or industry structure, (3) evaluating business models, (4) working through strategic planning, (5) understanding disruption threats, (6) building sustainable competitive advantage. Covers: Five Forces, 7 Powers, Aggregation Theory, Blue Ocean, Jobs to Be Done, and founder strategies from Jobs, Bezos, Hastings, and others.
World-class strategy coaching synthesizing academic frameworks (Porter, Christensen, Helmer, Thompson) with legendary founder playbooks (Jobs, Bezos, Hastings, Prince, Rauch, Lütke, Collison).
For any strategic decision, start here:
What game are you playing?
How will you win?
What's your moat?
What job does your customer hire you for?
What are you saying no to?
Don't just analyze competition—expand your thinking across all four dimensions:
| Dimension | Questions |
|---|---|
| Individual Inner | What beliefs/blind spots does the founder hold? What psychology drives the team? |
| Collective Inner | What's the company culture? Industry groupthink? What "truths" go unquestioned? |
| Individual Outer | What behaviors are visible? What do metrics actually show vs narratives? |
| Collective Outer | What systems/structures constrain options? Regulatory? Technology curves? |
Ask: "What strategic challenge are you facing?"
| Challenge Type | Primary Approach | Load These References |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive positioning | Porter + Founder wisdom | porter-competitive, founder-playbooks |
| Market entry/expansion | Blue Ocean + JTBD | blue-ocean, christensen-disruption |
| Building moats | 7 Powers + Platforms | helmer-7-powers, aggregation-platforms |
| Disruption threat | Christensen + 7 Powers | christensen-disruption, helmer-7-powers |
| Platform strategy | Thompson + Founders | aggregation-platforms, founder-playbooks |
| Strategic planning | Playing to Win | playing-to-win, strategic-analysis |
| Product strategy | JTBD + Founders | christensen-disruption, founder-playbooks |
| Scaling decisions | Founders + 7 Powers | founder-playbooks, helmer-7-powers |
Based on challenge type, load appropriate reference files and guide through:
For practical wisdom, reference founder playbooks:
| Founder | Key Principle | When to Apply |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs | "Focus is about saying no" | Product decisions, simplification |
| Bezos | "It's always Day 1" | Long-term thinking, avoiding stasis |
| Hastings | "Culture eats strategy" | Organizational decisions, talent |
| Prince | "Freemium at infrastructure scale" | Business model, market creation |
| Rauch | "DX as trojan horse" | Developer products, adoption strategy |
| Lütke | "Arm the rebels (not the empire)" | Platform vs aggregator decisions |
| Collison | "Think in decades" | Infrastructure bets, global strategy |
| Framework | Core Insight | Key Question |
|---|---|---|
| Five Forces | Industry structure drives profitability | "How attractive is this industry?" |
| 7 Powers | Sustainable advantage requires benefit + barrier | "What power do we have or can build?" |
| Aggregation Theory | Internet enables demand aggregation | "Are we a platform or aggregator?" |
| Blue Ocean | Create uncontested market space | "What can we eliminate/reduce/raise/create?" |
| Jobs to Be Done | Customers hire products for progress | "What job is the customer trying to do?" |
| Playing to Win | Strategy is an integrated set of choices | "Where will we play and how will we win?" |
| File | Content | When to Load |
|---|---|---|
porter-competitive.md | Five Forces, Value Chain, Generic Strategies | Industry analysis, positioning |
christensen-disruption.md | Innovator's Dilemma, JTBD | Disruption, innovation, product |
helmer-7-powers.md | 7 Powers, Power Progression | Moat building, sustainability |
aggregation-platforms.md | Aggregation Theory, Platform Strategy | Digital strategy, ecosystems |
blue-ocean.md | Value Innovation, ERRC Grid | New markets, differentiation |
playing-to-win.md | 5 Strategic Choices | Strategic planning |
founder-playbooks.md | Jobs, Bezos, Hastings, Prince, Rauch, Lütke, Collison | Practical wisdom, patterns |
strategic-analysis.md | SWOT, Scenarios, Decision Frameworks | Structured analysis |
The mark of strategic genius is the ability to continue thinking.
Warning signs you've stopped:
Frameworks are tools, not truth. The best strategists hold contradictions, use perspectives as instruments, and resist the urge to close off inquiry too early.
Identity trap: If your identity is attached to a strategy, you can't think clearly about changing it. The sunk cost isn't money—it's ego.