S4P Explores the
Basics of Competitive Strategy

What Is Strategy?: An Illustrated Guide to Michael Porter
by Joan Magretta and Heinrich Zimmerman, Illustrated by Emile Holmewood

Book Summary

Delivered in an illustrated children's book format, "What Is Strategy?" condenses business strategist Michael Porter's influential book "Competitive Strategy" into an easily accessible (and dare we say enjoyable) guide to Porter's frameworks. Complete with a cast of interactive characters and rife with animal puns, this book helps readers develop a fundamental understanding of industry structure and the Five Forces, competitive advantage, and the value chain through illustrated graphics, dialogue, and concise summaries. "What Is Strategy?" is designed for readers of all professional backgrounds and aims to deliver Porter's theory for visual and auditory learners. 

Key Insights

  • Zero-sum competition is a strategy trap to which many organizations fall prey. Competitive strategy is less about creating a monopoly within an industry and more about creating and delivering unique value for customers. Not only does this positive-sum model of competition sustain healthy growth and shared success in a particular industry, but it effects the overall health of society through promoting continued innovation and choice among customers. 

  • Understanding a company's value chain is essential to our work at S4P. In order to do our best due diligence, the team needs to understand what a company offers, how it delivers value to its customers, and how the company's offerings and delivery are distinct and different from its competitors. 

Workflow Applications

  • Tests and Checklists: "What Is Strategy?" provides a helpful list of questions to ensure successful strategy. These tests and questions are focused around value proposition and value chain, customer segmentation, trade-offs, fit, and continuity and are directly applicable to S4P's diligence work as well as our own competitive strategy. Taking the framework of these questions and tailoring them to our individual workflows and company processes will help each S4P team member ensure the thoroughness of our contributions to a project. 

  • Five Forces: Michael Porter's well-renowned theory of competition and industry structure called the 'Five Forces' provides a great tool for all S4P team members to use in understanding a company in any industry. Especially in our opening project phases like Foundational Questions, the idea of the 'Five Forces' can help break down a how a company interacts with its customers, its competitors, and its industry. 

Discussion Questions

  • What areas of competitive strategy are unclear?

  • How can you use a concept from this book to improve your workflow or support a teammate in their workflow?

  • What questions do you have about competitive strategy as it relates to how our clients make decisions with the information we provide?

  • How can an understanding of competitive strategy improve your job?

  • What is your favorite animal pun or joke about corporate life?

Memorable Quotes From The Book

  • "Strategy is about distinguishing yourself from competitors to achieve superior performance."

  • "Healthy profits come from good choices about how to compete. So strategy matters not just for you and your business but for the welfare of society at large."

  • "Strategy is about making trade-offs in competing. The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do."

  • "Flexibility sounds good in theory...but follow it down to the activities you perform and you'll see why flexibility without strategy will guarantee mediocrity."

  • 'I wish @CEO would stop with the insensitive animal jokes. # hostileworkplace."

Additional Resources