EMPERIOStrategy & Research Lab
Framework library

Strategy Diamond

Strategic diagnosis

How to use it

Define where to compete, how to enter, how to win, in what sequence and why it makes money. Check that the choices reinforce one another.

Worked example

For the snack maker, choose a city segment, a channel, a differentiator, a pilot sequence and a contribution hurdle.

Common pitfall

An attractive arena without a credible vehicle or economic logic is a hypothesis.

Work through a decision
  1. Frame the questionWhat is the decision, who owns it and what is the strongest explanation for the current problem?
  2. What to deliverWrite one diagnosis, two feasible choices and a piece of evidence that would change the choice.

Apply it to a case

Read the companion story: The order after the first order