Case Study 04 · Strategy · Business concept
New strategy. New business concept.
Diagnosing potential, choosing a strategic direction and developing a new business concept, together with preparing the organisation to deliver it.
Illustrative image. It does not show a site covered by the project.
01
Starting point
The company had reached a point at which further development could not rest solely on continuing the existing model.
Three basic questions needed answering:
- where the potential of the business really lies,
- which strategic direction is best justified,
- and how to translate it into a specific concept that can be implemented.
The starting point was therefore not designing a new offer or format.
First it was necessary to establish what in the current model was worth keeping, what needed to change, and what should not be developed further in its existing form.
02
The key challenge
The hardest strategic decisions are rarely a choice between a good solution and a bad one.
Far more often they are a choice between several directions, each of which may look logical, but which require different resources, competencies and ways of operating.
In this project the key task was therefore not to create a "new idea", but to choose the direction with the greatest economic and strategic potential that the organisation could realistically deliver.
The project required looking at the same time at:
- the potential of the current business,
- customers' needs and behaviour,
- positioning,
- the structure of the offer,
- the revenue-generation model,
- sales channels,
- the competencies required,
- the organisation and way of operating,
- and the conditions necessary to implement the new model.
03
Diagnosis
The first stage was an assessment of the business's real potential.
The aim of the diagnosis was to separate:
what is a lasting advantage from what is merely an element of the historical way of operating.
The analysis covered an assessment of:
- the existing value proposition,
- the business model,
- the offer and how it is monetised,
- the customer relationship,
- the potential of individual channels,
- the ability to scale,
- key resources and competencies,
- and organisational constraints.
The outcome of the diagnosis was not meant to be a list of problems.
Its aim was to identify the most valuable elements on which the next stage of development could be built.
04
Choosing the strategic direction
After the diagnosis, the next stage was to compare possible scenarios.
Each option was assessed from the perspective of:
- revenue potential,
- profitability,
- capital required,
- time needed to achieve an effect,
- risk,
- the ability to scale,
- fit with the organisation's competencies,
- and consistency with the brand's positioning.
The key decision was therefore not the question:
"What can we do?"
but:
"Which direction gives the greatest value under realistic conditions of delivery?"
It was at this stage that strategy was brought down from a general ambition to a specific choice.
05
The new business concept
The chosen direction was then translated into a target concept.
The concept covered not only the value proposition for the customer, but also the logic of the whole model:
- for whom we create value,
- what problem we solve,
- what exactly we offer,
- how the customer uses the offer,
- in which channels sales take place,
- where revenue comes from,
- what resources are needed,
- which competencies are key,
- and what the organisation's target way of operating looks like.
This is an important distinction.
A business concept is not a marketing idea.
It is a system that must at the same time create value for the customer and work economically for the company.
06
From strategy to operating model
A new strategy begins to matter only when the organisation is able to act on it.
That is why the project did not end with defining the direction and the concept.
The next stage was preparing the organisation for delivery.
This included defining:
- key implementation actions,
- accountabilities,
- required competencies,
- resources,
- stages of delivery,
- interdependencies between areas,
- how decisions are taken,
- and the criteria for assessing whether the concept works as intended.
In this way strategy was translated into specific conditions for execution.
07
The most important decision
The most important element of the project was not creating a greater number of options.
It was narrowing the choice.
In a strategic transformation it is very easy to create many attractive directions.
It is far harder to decide:
which of them should actually be pursued.
That is why the value of the project arose at the intersection of:
- diagnosis,
- selection,
- design,
- and preparation for execution.
08
Project results
On the basis of currently confirmed information:
- a diagnosis of the business potential was carried out;
- a strategic direction was defined;
- a new business concept was developed;
- the strategy was translated into assumptions for the operating model;
- the organisation was prepared to deliver the concept;
- the conditions necessary for implementation were defined.
09
HEFT7 Perspective
A new business concept should not begin with a creative idea.
It should begin with understanding:
- where the company genuinely has an advantage,
- where real demand lies,
- which resources could be used better,
- and which direction has an economic justification.
Only then is it worth designing a new model.
Because strategy is not about creating more possibilities.
It is about choosing the one that most deserves to be delivered.
Management takeaway
"A good concept does not start with an idea.
It starts with the right choice."
10
Project scope against the seven HEFT7 disciplines
The scope of this project presented in the layout of the seven HEFT7 disciplines.
- 01
Diagnosis
Assessment of the business's potential, value proposition, model, channels, resources, competencies and constraints.
- 02
Strategy
Comparison of options and choice of the strategic direction.
- 03
Design
Development of the new business concept and its economic and operational logic.
- 04To be confirmed / partial scope
Preparation
Preparing the organisation, accountabilities, resources and conditions for delivery.
- 05To be confirmed
Implementation
The scope was not confirmed in the available materials.
- 06To be confirmed
Measurement
The scope was not confirmed in the available materials.
- 07To be confirmed
Stabilisation
The scope was not confirmed in the available materials.
- Stage completed
- Partial scope or to be confirmed
Facing the choice of a new direction?
HEFT7 combines the diagnosis of potential, the choice of strategic direction, concept design and preparing the organisation to deliver it.