3 things to do to suggest a competitive strategy to your boss and get promoted faster

Want to get ahead quickly?   Why not work smart, not hard?  You could stay for years in the trenches and slowly-work your way up because you are good at doing what your boss asks you to do.   Or you could take the initiative and always volunteer suggestions on how the business can grow, then always be the first in line for a promotion because your boss values the contributions you make and sees you as being key to the development of the organisation.

One area that will definitely bring you attention is if you suggest ways in which the “Competitive Advantage” of the organisation can be improved and what “Competitive Strategy” should be followed to get this competitive advantage.  For those who are unfamiliar with the term, competitive advantage refers to the difference in what your firm offers to its customers that makes them always prefer to buy from you, as against buying from your competitors).  

The competitive strategy we choose to get this competitive advantage can be either

1. Innovation, or the introduction of improved processes or products
2. Vertical Integration, or the linking of our value-chain with that of another firm at a different stage of supply-chain in same industry
3. Diversification/Horizontal Integration, or the linking of our value-chain with that of another firm at the same stage of the supply-chain within a different industry
4. Internationalization, or expanding into new markets overseas

But which one to choose? Simple.   We should adopt the Competitive Strategy that best strengthens our value chain in the environment we are in so as to achieve Competitive Advantage.  

To determine which competitive strategy is best for us, we can take the following steps: 

Step 1:  Scan the business environment and decide which type of Competitive Advantage we should focus on

In some environments (such as when we are selling a basic commodity like bread and our target customers have low disposable income) a Cost Advantage is preferable.  In other environments (such as when we are selling a new product to a target of tech-savvy customers), a Differentiation Advantage is better. 

We should do a proper scan of our environment using competitive position analysis tools such as Five Forces Analysis, PESTEL Analysis, Life Cycle Analysis and Product Portfolio Analysis.   This analysis will tell us what are the opportunities and challenges that our entity faces.  We can then see what sort of Competitive Advantage is best for us.  

Remember, you can view YouTube videos to get further insight into the investigation tools I mention above.   There are a ton of videos out there.  Just choose the short videos with a lot of clicks!

Step 2:  Do a bench-marking review of our value chain to see what weaknesses exist that will prevent us from getting the desired advantage 

Once we know what is the best form of Competitive Advantage that we should have, we now need to find out if we can do what we say we want to do.  

The Value Chain is the chain of activities or processes in the organisation that cause the entity to perform the way it currently is doing.   We then need to ask ourselves if we can reach the desired Advantage level given how the value chain is currently arranged and how things are currently done.

We should then look at each part of the value chain, benchmark it against “best-in-class” or desired standards and see if we are achieving the best possible outcome. 

For instance given our desired to have a Cost Advantage, do we have inefficient production equipment that prevent us from producing at the best cost?   Are we utilizing opportunities such as technological advances to cut overhead costs?    Do we have a logistics system and distribution network that can adequately supply the market?  

Given our desire to have a Differentiation Advantage are our current R&D efforts enough to output new, innovative products?  Is our Marketing able to show the unique advantages of our product?  Do we have a strong organisational learning effort that allows staff to think of new ways of filling customer needs?  Is our organisation flexible and responsive to changing customer trends?

Step 3:  Do a cost:benefit analysis comparing each of the strategy options to see which strengthening option will give us the most profit

Always remember, although the strategy we choose should correct whatever weaknesses exist in the Value Chain and allow us to reach the desired Competitive Advantage, if it does not result in us increasing our profit in the long run then it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.   

A financial forecast of the effects of each strategic option should then be developed to ensure that we will still be in business tomorrow when the dust settles!

Want to know more about competitive strategies and other management actions you can suggest to advance more quickly up the career ladder?   Master leading concepts by doing the highest-ranked MBA in Jamaica from Edinburgh Business School in Scotland, available here in Jamaica at B&B University College!