Sebastian, a seasoned expert in strategy formulation at BCG and a long-time friend of mine, recently penned a short article that highlights the importance of asking the right questions to develop effective strategies. He provided a list of 22 strategic questions commonly used by BCG consultants.
**Why (WHY)**
1. Which group of customers do we consistently win over, and why?
2. What is the core competitive advantage of our Business X?
3. What is it about Business X that our competitors envy most?
4. What underlying strategic assumptions must be in place for us to succeed in Business X?
5. What actions from Competitor A would be most damaging to us?
6. What are the profit sanctuaries of Competitor A, and what is the reasoning behind this?
**What If (WHAT IF)**
7. If we had double (or half) our current capital expenditure, what actions would we take?
8. What do we need to do within the next five years to double our sales?
9. If we were to collaborate with Google, Amazon, or Facebook, what different initiatives would we undertake?
10. If I were to step down, what changes would the next CEO likely make in the company?
11. How would we respond if our supply chain were severely disrupted for six months?
12. What advantages can we gain from leveraging our ecosystem?
13. If we were acquired by a private equity firm, what different approaches would they implement?
14. What actions do we need to take to significantly enhance our competitive cost position?
**How (HOW)**
15. How should we enter the XYZ market?
16. How can we disrupt ourselves?
17. What strategies should we employ to sell our products profitably at half the current price?
18. How can we enhance the competitiveness of Business X?
19. How can we target Competitor A’s profit sanctuaries?
20. How do we shift towards a lighter asset base?
21. How can we implement more value-based pricing models?
22. How can we transition to a subscription-based business model?
For those interested, I encourage you to take a few minutes to read the full article. It offers valuable insights on refining strategic thought processes. You can find it here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/strategy-nugget-11-1-tactic-improve-your-development-stange.