Cascade of Choices - Understanding the Five Essential Questions of Strategy
Strategy doesn't have to be mysterious or overwhelming. At its core, strategy is about making specific choices to win in the marketplace. A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin present a clear framework built around five essential questions that form what they call the Strategic Choice Cascade.
The Fundamental Framework
Cascade of Choices - Lafley/Martin
What is Your Winning Aspiration?
The foundation of strategy begins with defining what winning means for your organization. This goes beyond traditional mission statements that often paint vague pictures of a happy future. Instead, winning aspirations must be grounded in competitive reality.
A winning aspiration defines success in clear market terms. For instance, Procter & Gamble's aspiration was "delivering market-leading, value-creating brands in every category and industry in which P&G chose to compete." This specific, competition-focused goal drove all other strategic choices.
Where Will You Play?
This question determines the specific field where you'll compete. It encompasses several key dimensions:
Geographic markets
Customer segments
Distribution channels
Product categories
Vertical stage of production
The key is making clear choices rather than trying to be everything to everyone. P&G demonstrated this by focusing on core markets, core brands, and core retail channels where they could truly dominate. They even divested profitable businesses like pharmaceuticals and food that didn't align with their core focus.
How Will You Win?
This question addresses how you'll succeed in your chosen playing field. It's about defining your competitive advantage and how you'll create superior value for customers. Organizations typically win through either cost leadership (like Walmart) or differentiation (like Apple).
The how-to-win choice must align with where-to-play decisions. For instance, P&G's choice to win through consumer understanding and brand building perfectly matched their chosen markets and categories.
What Capabilities Must Be in Place?
Winning requires identifying and building the critical capabilities needed to execute your strategy. These aren't just things you're good at, but rather the specific abilities required to win in your chosen way.
P&G identified five essential capabilities:
Deep consumer understanding
Innovation in products and services
Brand building
Go-to-market ability
Global scale
The power comes not from individual capabilities but from how they reinforce each other. P&G's consumer understanding feeds innovation, which strengthens brands, which are then delivered effectively through their go-to-market capabilities, all at global scale.
What Management Systems Are Required?
The final question addresses the systems, structures, and measures needed to support and sustain your strategy. Without proper management systems, even the best strategy remains just a wish list.
Key management systems might include:
Strategy review processes
Innovation program reviews
Brand equity reviews
Budget and operating plans
Talent assessment and development
P&G transformed all these systems to align with their strategic choices. For example, they codified their brand-building approach into a comprehensive framework that could be systematically taught and implemented.
The Dynamic Nature of Strategy
The Strategic Choice Cascade isn't a linear, one-time process. It's dynamic and iterative, with choices at each level influencing those above and below. Organizations must regularly revisit and refine these choices as markets evolve and new opportunities emerge.
Implementation in Practice
Success comes from making clear choices at each level and ensuring they work together as a coherent whole. The framework's power lies in its simplicity and applicability across organizations of any size. While the specific answers will vary, the five questions remain constant.
Consider these principles when applying the framework:
Be specific in your choices
Understand what you won't do
Ensure choices reinforce each other
Build supporting capabilities and systems
Review and adjust regularly
The Path Forward
Strategy doesn't have to be the domain of a small group of experts. This framework democratizes strategy by providing a common language and approach that can be used at all levels of an organization. By thoughtfully addressing these five questions, organizations can develop clear, actionable strategies that create sustainable competitive advantage.
Transform Strategic Thinking into Strategic Results
While the Strategic Choice Cascade provides a clear framework, transforming strategic concepts into organizational reality requires experienced guidance. Frontier Strategy Partners specializes in helping organizations navigate these critical strategic decisions and implement lasting change. Our team of experienced strategists works alongside your leadership to:
First, we engage in deep strategic dialogue to crystalize your organization's answers to these five essential questions. Then, we help translate these strategic choices into practical action, ensuring your organization builds the capabilities and systems needed for successful execution. Throughout the journey, we serve as trusted advisors, providing objective analysis and insights that challenge conventional thinking and drive strategic clarity.
The path to developing and implementing winning strategy is complex, but you don't need to navigate it alone. Partner with Frontier Strategy Partners to transform these strategic concepts into tangible results for your organization. Contact us to begin a conversation about your strategic aspirations and how we can help you achieve them.
