Re:The Irrelevance of Porter’s Five Forces for the B2B Softw...
by DanRosanova on Tuesday April 19, 2022 @03:16PM
(#31087574)
Understanding Michael Porter by Joan Magretta and Co-opetition by Barry Nalebuff and Adam M. Brandenburger are the two best books I've ever read about business and strategy in my life... and 20+ years in tech tells me these are relevant in any industry - even fast moving ones. The five tests of a good strategy in particular, from Margretta's book, are amazing and are about building sustainable competitive advantage in positive sum competition.
Porter has written a lot and five forces was originally in a very different context, but the real thrust of Competitive Strategy (the giant book) was about taking the time to do the homework. And that hasn't changed. You still need to do the homework. Porter was never, in any of my reading of his work, about destroying the competition... at was all about creating and capturing value.
And these books aren't easy "how to's" they're mental models for approaching things. Like von Clausewitz or Sun Tzu your mileage will vary with the creativity you apply in the comprehension and then application. There is a lot more creativity in competition and strategy than most people realize.
Porter has written a lot and five forces was originally in a very different context, but the real thrust of Competitive Strategy (the giant book) was about taking the time to do the homework. And that hasn't changed. You still need to do the homework. Porter was never, in any of my reading of his work, about destroying the competition... at was all about creating and capturing value.
And these books aren't easy "how to's" they're mental models for approaching things. Like von Clausewitz or Sun Tzu your mileage will vary with the creativity you apply in the comprehension and then application. There is a lot more creativity in competition and strategy than most people realize.