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Category: Competitive Strategy

Competitive Strategy is a plan allowing a company to take a set of coordinated actions that allow it to serve the needs of customers, in a more profitable manner, where the plan either cannot be copied by competitors or requires such a high cost to replicate that competitors choose not to replicate this competitive strategy. There are two levers to pull. First, is the willingness of customers to pay more. Second, is the cost to encourage this willingness. Each of these levers can be analyzed along four dimensions.

Is the service/product valuable?
Is the service/product scarce?
Does the provider have some asymmetry (advantage) in the way it provides the services?
Does it have a cost advantage?

A company is usually deploying some advantage that is allowing it to succeed. This is called a competitive advantage and the competitive strategy is the plan to deploy that advantage. A competitive advantage may be a single asset or skill. A single competitive advantage that may be lost, change or bought over time is not sustainable in the long term. The hardest competitive advantage to copy is one where a company takes a set of average assets and organizes them in way to produce superior returns. This competitive advantage, organizational, is harder to copy and more sustainable.

Competitive Advantage: Does LAB compete on risk or price?

Competitive Advantage: Does LAB compete on risk or price?

A bank can only build its competitive advantage on one of these levers. Read more…

  • February 3, 2019

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Greetings from the Editor

My name is Kris Safarova and I am the editor of StrategyJournal.com. I also run StrategyTraining.com, StrategyBooks.com, StrategyTV.com and Firmsconsulting.com. In addition I run two podcasts routinely ranked in the Top 10 for careers worldwide: Strategy Skills and Case Interviews & Management Consulting.

I work with ex-BCG, McKinsey et al senior partners to produce all the content on the sites above. I curate and distill their ideas through books, videos, documentaries, apps, podcasts and other bespoke programming streamed 24/7 in >150 countries around the world that teach our clients to solve mankind’s  toughest problems. Our free episodes have been downloaded >2 million times. Our subscription-only content has much higher engagement. In total I have worked with these partners to produce >35 training programs about strategy. That’s >4,000 episodes of content and over 900 hours of subscription-only programming. 

 Our audience across all platforms paid/free includes CEOs, executive committee members of the most elite consulting firms and senior government officials, including promising young managers from the US to India, Vietnam, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, UK, Canada, Australia etc.

While I am proud of all the work, I am particularly fond of the 3-year journey to produce The Bill Matassoni Show documentary series and Bill’s memoir Marketing Saves the World. Bill was McKinsey’s first marketing director, and a mentee and close friend of Marvin Bower. We also produced a set of unique Apps, a unique limited edition Glass House memoir and a very effective social media campaign to launch the book which went to #1 on Amazon in its category and #9 on WSJ. I really enjoyed working with Bill and his lovely wife Pamela.

Our goal is to teach complex problem skills through engaging, entertaining and realistic settings: From restructuring a national power utility to building an electric car start-up to building the innovation division at a global professional services firm to building profitable banking products for the unbanked, and more. Motivated and armed with our detailed content and focus on ethical leadership, our clients are tackling problems that matter to the world. The articles here are adapted from the advanced and in-depth content that the partners produce. I edit all the articles and also write a few myself. 

If you would like updates on the programs we produce and our weekly episode releases, please opt-in to the email list above. In my prior life I was a consultant, banker, master pianist and fledgling recorded pop singer. I hold a Richard Ivey MBA and UNISA B.Comm along with a DG Shatalov Music Diploma.

Contact Information

c/o Kristina Safarova
187 E. Warm Springs Rd.
Suite B158
Las Vegas, NV 89119