5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker)

Roger Martin is one of the world’s leading experts on strategy and the author of Playing to Win, one of the most beloved books on strategy. He’s written extensively for the Harvard Business Review; consulted for dozens of Fortune 500 companies, including P&G, Lego, and Ford; and written 11 other books. In our conversation, we discuss:
• The five key questions you need to answer to develop an effective strategy
• Why most companies get strategy wrong
• How to avoid “playing to play” instead of playing to win
• Real-world strategy examples from Procter & Gamble, Southwest Airlines, Lego, and Figma
• How to think about differentiation vs. low cost
• Shortcomings of current strategy education
• Much more

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Correction: Roger pointed out that he made an error during our chat. When I asked him about Richard Rumelt (~16 mins), he thought I said Richard D'Aveni.

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Where to find Roger Martin:

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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Roger’s background
(02:27) The importance of strategy
(07:03) Challenges in developing strategy
(08:30) Critique of modern strategy education
(17:40) Defining strategy and the choice cascade
(23:20) Playing to win vs. playing to play
(24:57) Examples of strategic success
(31:04) Exploring differentiation and moats
(40:23) Applying strategy to real-world scenarios
(43:39) Customer-centric strategy
(44:06) Defining the market and product
(45:31) Value chain and distribution
(50:34) Cost leadership vs. differentiation
(53:16) Capabilities and management systems
(57:37) Competitive advantage and market positioning
(01:06:10) Adapting to market changes
(01:14:32) Practical strategy tips
(01:18:44) Final thoughts on strategy

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

[rogermartin]

I made an error, BTW, I heard Lenny asking me about Richard D'Aveni when in fact he asked me about Richard Rumelt. I answered about D'Aveni not Rumelt. Totally my bad. Wasn't listening carefully enough! Roger

[skylerreeves]

Holy damn. First Rory, then Roger? This is wonderful Lenny.

[TariqAbdul-Rasheed]

It was a pleasant suprise to find Roger on the podcasts.

Fantastic ep, Lenny.

[paula]

Fantastic! I couldn't even see time going by while watching, and I loved how Roger unapologetically says things as they are.

[ccbedardable]

Wonderful interview. Roger's views are so clear and compelling. Spot on.

[nickvoutsas]

Thank you for defining a barrier to entry in which space it’s, to costly or time consuming for your competitors.
Absolutely brilliant

[JonDaiello]

Such a fantastic interview. I'm a huge fan of Roger's work and helping designers understand and be truly strategic in their thinking and work. Thanks for hosting this fantastic interview, and for using Figjam as a practical example.

[soulsearch]

I need to watch this twice, but with my stylus pen in my hand. Love the knowledge in this.

[devikottary]

I don't recall being riveted to a podcast such as this (Lenny - Roger Ft). As Roger stated, secret behind super successful/successful people is practice practice. The more reps you take, the better you get at the skill. Thank you Lenny

[iyanuashiri]

I loved when you asked Roger Martin how he categorized Hamilton and Richard.

For a product I am working on, I use Roger's model for strategy and integrated one of the 7 Business Strategies from Hamilton book. It is in How to Win question.

So yes, Hamilton books fits into Roger's model.

[Dougduh]

After watching bunch of videos about strategy, I can confirm this Prof’s material is legit. The “And” between positioning and capabilities makes his theory quite convincing. I’m buying the book

[MaxRuso]

Great strategist is the one that practice....❤❤❤

[PhirunKao]

I love following Roger Martin and I have learnt so much from him.

[silkevanderburg]

Great video that concisely discusses strategy! Great work

[zaferabdulrahman]

Playing to win:
1. Low cost provider
2. Be differentiated
3. Find a different place to win

Things to think about when writing your winning strategy:
1. What is our winning aspiration?
2. Where will we play?
3. How will we win?
4. What capabilities must be in place to win?
5. What mgt capabilities must we have to make sure the capabilities are in place?

[ruchisingh]

Can’t believe Lenny tried to explain AI to him😂 and how he laughed it off saying ya I’m writing a paper on it😅

[sleepnabox]

Roger Martin is the fuckin man. Absorbed much from him strategy wise. Great choice.

[YonnasTGetahun]

@lenny in the words of DJ Khaled “another one”

Amazing!!!

[craciun]

Very weird vibes this episode, not sure why. Great insights and content!

[scheerwest]

Out of curiosity, why no rapid fire questions at the end, Lenny?