What is Strategy?

Strategy shouldn't be complicated. Watch Harvard Business School’s Felix Oberholzer-Gee, author of "Better, Simpler Strategy."

To many people, strategy is a total mystery. But it’s really not complicated, says Harvard Business School’s Felix Oberholzer-Gee, author of "Better, Simpler Strategy". 00:00 To many people, strategy is a mystery.00:25 Strategy does not start with a focus on profit.

‍00:52 It's about creating value.

‍01:00 There's a simple tool to help visualize the value you create: the value stick.

‍01:30 What is willingness-to-pay?

‍02:30 What is willingness-to-sell?

‍03:14 Remind me: Where does profit come in again?

‍03:48 How do I raise willingness-to-pay?

‍05:00 And how do I lower willingness-to-sell?

‍06:18 Real world example: Best Buy's dramatic turnaround

Companies should simplify and focus on two value drivers, he argues: customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. By aligning strategic initiatives on these alone, leaders make their workers’ jobs less complicated and improve customer experiences.
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Oberholzer-Gee is the author of the Harvard Business Review article “Eliminate Strategic Overload” (https://hbr.org/2021/05/eliminate-str...) as well as the book “Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance” (https://www.amazon.com/Better-Simpler...).Produced and edited by Scott LaPierreVideo by Dave Di Iulio and Elie HoneinAnimation by Alex Belser

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Key takeaways

What is Strategy?

Strategy shouldn't be complicated. Watch Harvard Business School’s Felix Oberholzer-Gee, author of "Better, Simpler Strategy."

To many people, strategy is a total mystery. But it’s really not complicated, says Harvard Business School’s Felix Oberholzer-Gee, author of "Better, Simpler Strategy". 00:00 To many people, strategy is a mystery.00:25 Strategy does not start with a focus on profit.

‍00:52 It's about creating value.

‍01:00 There's a simple tool to help visualize the value you create: the value stick.

‍01:30 What is willingness-to-pay?

‍02:30 What is willingness-to-sell?

‍03:14 Remind me: Where does profit come in again?

‍03:48 How do I raise willingness-to-pay?

‍05:00 And how do I lower willingness-to-sell?

‍06:18 Real world example: Best Buy's dramatic turnaround

Companies should simplify and focus on two value drivers, he argues: customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. By aligning strategic initiatives on these alone, leaders make their workers’ jobs less complicated and improve customer experiences.
‍

Oberholzer-Gee is the author of the Harvard Business Review article “Eliminate Strategic Overload” (https://hbr.org/2021/05/eliminate-str...) as well as the book “Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance” (https://www.amazon.com/Better-Simpler...).Produced and edited by Scott LaPierreVideo by Dave Di Iulio and Elie HoneinAnimation by Alex Belser

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