Porter’s article “What Is Strategy?” provides an insight into different recommendations for a company’s development. It was interesting to know that it is possible to outperform competitors only if a company can establish a difference and preserve it. Indeed, customers usually pay attention to companies that stand out from others. Porter mentions applying advanced technologies and using different ways to motivate employees as some of such differences. At the same time, I can agree that competitors can immediately imitate best business practices, and constant improvement of operational effectiveness is not always sufficient.
Another point that seems interesting is how the author describes the strategy for starting an entrepreneurial business. The author underlines the importance of finding strategic positioning in the sphere of entrepreneurship. He mentions the example of Ikea, which turned into an ignored customer group, which positively influenced its business activity. Another solution for new entrants can be to take the position ceded by a competitor. Additionally, a company coming from a different business area can create new positions with the use of distinctive features of its activity. At the same time, Porter emphasizes that new positions usually appear because of change. I cannot disagree with the author: the world is constantly developing, and customers’ preferences and demands do not stay the same. Therefore, new entrants can benefit from adapting to these changes.
The last thing worth mentioning is that trade-offs are necessary for a sustainable strategic position. According to Porter, trade-offs create a need for choice, which, in its turn, creates a need for strategy. Moreover, an important point that I noticed is that trade-offs contribute to making a company’s activity more organized. They highlight its priorities and prevent a company from confusion. To sum up, I can say that each of the three tools mentioned above can be effective for both new entrants in the market and companies that aim to improve their performance.