Strategic Canvas

The Strategy Canvas is a critical diagnostic and action tool utilized in the Blue Ocean Strategy process. It allows an organization to visualize the competitive factors and the current state of play of those factors within an industry and then compares the organization’s offering with those of the industry in general. When combined with other tools, the strategy canvas helps you create your new blue ocean strategy.

The strategy canvas helps you to create value innovation. As you read this, refer to the strategy canvas example below of the electronic games industry.

The strategy canvas has three components. First are the competitive factors. Competitive factors are the six to twelve features or benefits considered key or essential to the promotion of a product or service to its intended market. It is a value element used to attract buyers. These are listed across bottom horizontal axis of the canvas.

The second component is the Offering level up the vertical axis. The level of a competitive factor that the buyer receives and a company invests. I.e. at what level do you provide education? A high score means a company offers buyers more, and therefore invests more in that factor. In the case of price, a higher score means a higher price.

Understand that since you are going to be listing only your top 6 – 12 factors, the level of the offering is going to be high for each factor and each competitor in the industry.

The third component is the Value Curve created when you plot the competitive factor against the offering level and connect the dots. This key component of the strategy canvas is created when the offering level of an industry’s or organization’s competitive factors are plotted on the strategy canvas and the dots connected.

Think of this as a visual representation of the industry’s value proposition. A value proposition is what the customer gets for their money.

Because competitors benchmark each other, the competitors in each industry will follow the same general curve shape. Thus you can average the results and combine to create the industry canvas representing all competitors.

Policy for life

I am writing on this blog after long time. Not because I didn’t have time but I used to think I do not have time. I didn’t have time but not because I had lot to do rather I was not organized. If you are too busy in your life and keep complaining that does not have time for anything and this is affecting your family life also then it is high time to rethink. Because everybody has same 24 hours and they are enjoying their life well then why you have this problem; there is something wrong in your life. There might be the case that you have been mixing your personal or professional life. And the major problem that I have observed or think that if you do not follow the discipline then things goes wrong. For example if you do not have discipline then you will get up late and then you will delay you office and since you have not come on time you will go home late. Consequently will try to postpone all you work in night and then will affect your routine. Similarly because of your lack of discipline you will encroach your profession life because of personal life emergency or vice versa. And then life go on like these only and you don’t mind making mistake because you know that I have sufficient time…aaj nahi to kal kar lenge…thik hai aaj ghar nahi jayenge…think hai parents ke saath ya wife ke saath thoda kam samay bitayenge….but you really don’t know that how will it result. Since you have encroached you personal life with some other emergency that has been created out of your wrong habit; one day your personal life will be demanding or come in urgent situation. Then you will encroach in your professional life and the circle continues.

If you closely observe you situation then you will find out that almost all of us are victim of this problem. Since we do not have the discipline in our life and we keep committing mistake or overruling the life. It is similar to the problem of a company who does not have the policy in place. And since policy is not in place then company takes decisions as per the situation and hence some time decision taken for one instance contradict the decision of another instance with different situation. And the basic reason is that there is no policy in place. Now compare the situation of a company whose policy is in place. Now every decision has the reference from the policy.

Same applies in our life also. If we put some policy in place life would be much easier. For example if we decide to go for sleep max at 11 pm whatever be the situation, then you will not carry forward your work in the night and then when you have to face the consequence you will try to schedule your work on time. (Here I don’t say if anything comes which is so urgent that you will not delay your sleep –do it but not always and for everything). Again decide at least once in a week will spend 4 hours with family and decide the day; you will plan your work accordingly and will not defer this thing which may further affect your life.

So the take away of this discussion can be deice a policy for your life- from the perspective of your profession, family, self (will spare two hours in a week for self- it will help you to plan yourself. Organize the self and do things what you really passionate about), society. Put this policy with day wise specification like this thing on Monday or thins thing on Sunday, and if possible by time also i.e. will go to sleep everyday around 11 pm. Once the policy is decided, visit your policy everyday and implement it. You will see the change. Slowly you will see your life has been organized and focused also, as you will not have enough time to anything- irrespective of the relevance to your life/career.

Learning Good from Bad

Hi, I am writing on the wall after long long time...its not the case I didn't have something to write but was too busy in solving the problems in life that this was completely out of mind. But few incidence happened in last few days provoked me to start writing. As usual I will start with a story. Generally in Mumbai I travel on western Line through taxi(shared one). Every time a get a shared taxi from any places like bandra/andheri/goregaon and get down at Thakur village and pay almost 20-30 Rs for the same. Everytime when I get down from the taxi, after paying I thank the driver. Yesterday while coming from Andheri i took a shared taxi and asked for kandivali - sai dham...he said ok. But on the way all his passanger got down before kandivali, so he told me that he can not go till thakur village and will drop me at kandivali police station. I shout on him and was so angry that I didn't thank him and said all taxi wala are like that only.
Today again I took a taxi from Kandivali till Andheri....and the driver was also rude this time. I was thinking all drivers are like this only and was struggling to decide whether I should say thanks while getting down or not? Sometime it was coming as yes and sometime as no.
But finally I decided to thank him and you know what the result was very positive and I think it will have some positive ripple effect.

The theory behind that- No one is bad by birth....one behave rudely because someone must have behaved rudely with him. so the this bad behavior has ripple effect. Then I though why can't we have the ripple effect of good behaviour....so even after his rude behavior I thanked him..."he was soo ashamed of his behavior that he could not react and say anything but his situation was palpable." But I was happy and I am sure next time he is not going to behave rudely to all by considering that every passanger is rude.

Moral of the story is that...spread good behavior it will turn to you as a good behavior. I have started so when are you starting??????


cheers,