Play to Win is a book about strategy from A. G Lafley and Roger Martin, Harvard Business Review Press, 2013. Mr. Lafley was the President of P & G for 10 years and Mr. Martin is a business educator and consultant. They believe strategy while complex, it is also simple and the important aspect is to answer 5 questions:

1. What is our winning aspiration?

2. Where will we play?

3. How will we win?

4. What capabilities must we have to do 1 to 3?

5. What management systems are required to do the above?

All the questions tie back and forth to one another which is the complex part, but they have to interlink in order to answer the questions. The reason to answer the questions is to lose less money, than the alternative.

The how and why of the questions are the reason to read the book or watch the video clips on You Tube. The answers to the questions are choices every company makes and it is important they link. For example if you define yourself as a market leader, are you? In what location are you the market leader? If you define yourself as better, better than who? better than the market leader? What distribution channels do you use and need? and the questions will keep coming based on the original choices of winning aspiration.

A wonderful example was GM had spent a couple of billion dollars are a new midsized car the Malibu, Mr. Martin asked what is a success? GM responded to better sales towards doubling it. At the time, the sales were 5% of the market with Toyota Camry as the market leader. Mr. Martin said better sales was good, but how does the new car compare to the Camry? It turned out Camry was better in 9 categories. GM went back to the drawing table spent $700 million to equal Camry. Sales were more than double. The issue is what aspiration were they trying for – to be better or be the best? Better than what? within the competitive landscape is that good enough or aim higher?

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all companies have strategies, the questions is how well they are defined and do most people in the organization understand and live them? By reading the President’s letter to the shareholders you should have an understanding of what the strategy is, if you do not then start by asking the 5 above questions.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions