Strategy Made Visual: The Activity System Map

Understanding Strategy Through Activity Systems

Key Principles of Strategy

• The speaker references Michael Porter's article "What is Strategy?" and emphasizes the need for a personal activity system map for their business.

• Porter identifies three key principles of strategy:

• Unique activities are essential, focusing on what an organization does rather than plans or vision statements.

• Sustainable strategic positions require trade-offs; organizations must be clear about what they do and do not do.

• Fit among activities drives competitive advantage, moving from simple consistency to optimization.

IKEA's Activity System

• The speaker illustrates IKEA's strategy through its activity system, highlighting limited customer service, self-selection by customers, modular furniture design, and low manufacturing costs as key components.

• A personal activity system map is created for the speaker’s business "Verbal to Visual," which focuses on teaching visual thinking skills.

Components of Verbal to Visual Curriculum

• The curriculum consists of three main categories: community building, frequent inspiration, and curriculum depth.

• The curriculum teaches model-making through hand-drawn diagrams that communicate both mindset and methods for developing visual thinking skills.

Community Engagement Strategies

• Weekly live workshops are hosted within the online learning community to discuss projects and provide feedback related to the curriculum.

• Asynchronous sharing is encouraged so community members can engage with each other outside of live sessions.

Communication Channels for Inspiration

• Frequent inspiration comes from YouTube (daily shorts and monthly long-form videos), where the speaker shares insights from their work and community projects.

• An email newsletter is sent weekly featuring stories with actionable suggestions relevant to visual thinking practices.

Alignment with Porter's Principles

• The speaker reflects on whether their activities align with Porter’s principles:

• Unique activities include making visual book summaries that stand out in a crowded market.

• They acknowledge growing confidence in identifying what they don’t do, such as writing books or guest appearances.

Thinking Workshops and Activity Systems

Evaluating Commitment to Activities

• The speaker discusses the importance of prioritizing activities that align with personal commitment, suggesting that removing less relevant tasks allows for greater focus on meaningful work.

• Emphasizes the need to assess whether activities are consistent and reinforcing, optimizing effort towards primary drivers like weekly workshops and monthly visual book summaries.

Operational Effectiveness

• Introduces the concept of operational effectiveness as defined by Michael Porter, focusing on how well various activities (workshops, YouTube shorts, newsletters) perform individually.

• Highlights the creation of a map for the activity system which instills confidence in strategic planning, allowing a shift from planning to execution without second-guessing.

Future Strategy and Goals

• The speaker expresses excitement about their current strategy and outlines a timeline (3 to 6 months) for evaluating its effectiveness while remaining open to future adjustments.

• Reiterates that all daily activities aim to help others become visual thinkers, addressing their needs for reading comprehension and effective communication.

Encouragement for Personal Strategy Development

• Invites viewers to develop their own strategies by mapping out their activity systems based on Porter's principles, wishing them luck in this endeavor.