Strategy is what makes you unique

Many books/articles have been written about strategy. While I think the books/articles that worth reading again and again is Porter’s What is Strategy, which was published on Harvard Business Review in Nov-Dec,1996.

Today, I spent some hours read Jack Trout’s Trout on Strategy. I’m sorry that I didn’t finish the book as I found the book was attractive for the front part but not the latter.

Strategy is: what makes you unique and what is the best way to put that difference into the minds of your customers and prospects. To achieve the goal, you should choose what to do and not. To operate efficiently, you should make things fit-together.

The following are some except from the book.

Chapter 1: Strategy is all about survival
Using good strategy is how you survive what I call the tyranny of choice.

What used to be national markets with local companies competing for business has become a global market with everyone competing for everyone's business everywhere.

The only problem is that they go into so much detail that you're more confused than when you started.

In a tough world, using strategy is how you survive.


Chapter 2: Strategy is all about perceptions
Minds are limited. The mind rejects new information that doesn't compute .It accepts only new information that matches its current state of mind.

An advertiser who wants to introduce a new product category must carry in a new ladder. This, too, is difficult, especially if the new category is not positioned against the old one. The mind has no room for what's new and different unless it's related to the mind.

Human beings rely more heavily on learning than any other species that has ever existed.
The secret of being remembered: keep it simple. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Pure logic is no guarantee of a winning argument.
Minds tend to be emotional, not rational.

It turns out that we're actually more impressed by what we already know(or buy) than by what's 'new'.

Perception is reality.
Don't get confused by facts.