Assignment 2: How to Win: Strategic Options Assessment and Recommendation Due Week 8, Sunday, midnight of your time zone (Weight: 25%) Introduction Strategy means making clear-cut choices about how to compete. You cannot be everything to everybody, no matter what the size of your business or how deep its pockets. Jack Welch Congratulations! In your first executive brief, you generated some great insights about the playing field and competitors and how your own organization stacks up. Now you will transition from looking back to looking ahead. You will develop your How to Win strategy that will feature your game-winning move! Your CEO has clarified that you need to think expansively and recommend a move that is transformative rather than incremental. To help with this, you have decided to consider each of the seven common winning moves outlined in the Week 6 Lecture Notes and pick one of them as your preferred game-winning move. You know that your game-winning move will be a decisive choice for the company. But in choosing this move (as is the case with any strategic initiative), the company will risk money and resources. If your move is the right one, you will grow sales and profits and beat your competitors. If your move is the wrong one, you risk disappointing your investors and letting your competitors gain competitive advantage. Given the importance of this decision, you will evaluate each of the seven common winning moves and then do a deep dive into the attractiveness, feasibility and risks of your chosen strategy. Your CEO is expecting your second executive brief in Week 8 to summarize your analysis of the strategy you believe offers the most potential and your recommendation for the game-winning move that you will be presenting in Week 10.
