Strategy: Creating Value and Planning for the Future

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Strategy is often seen as mysterious and complex, but it is actually a simple plan to create value. It involves looking forward, planning for the future, and considering the value created for customers, employees, and suppliers. A figure called a value stick can illustrate this concept, with the difference between willingness to pay and willingness to sell representing the value created by a company.

To many people, strategy is a total mystery. But Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee says strategy doesn’t have to be complicated if you focus on creating value.

“Strategy’s simple. It’s a plan to create value,” he explains. “The way a company plans to create that value, that's the strategy of the company.”

In this episode, you’ll learn how to focus on two key value drivers: customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. You’ll also learn where profits come in and how to visualize the value you create.

Key episode topics include: strategy, competitive strategy, creating value, profit, value stick, willingness to pay, willingness to sell, Best Buy, Hubert Joly, turnaround.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

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