Does the business know what it is competing on?
Strategic Clarity is the first of the seven foundations in the Cat’s Whiskers framework. It is what a business fit for growth has in place before platforms, before acquisition and before marketplaces: a clear account of what the business is, and a decision to compete where it can win rather than everywhere it can be seen. When it degrades, the framework calls the failure cluster Strategic Delusion: growth bought before the foundation that makes it sustainable was secure.
The eight checks
- Is there a defensible proposition beyond the product itself?
- Is profit prioritised alongside growth, rather than after it?
- Are brand and performance run as one agenda?
- Does the business have the agility to trial and learn?
- Is there a considered position on Amazon, rather than a fight on Amazon’s terms?
- Is international demand seen, or ignored?
- Is the customer known, rather than assumed?
- Our proposition stands even where the product is a commodity
Most of these patterns are normal; they are what businesses look like while they are busy succeeding. The point is knowing which are present, which are binding, and which to fix before the next cheque is written.
