Strategy Case

How will we deal with the future challenges? And the questions in the very beginning were:

* Are our goals well defined and how we will develop a company with lasting value2 that can grow beyond the constraints in Intopia world

* How we will deal with the competition and manage growth with profitability

* What will be our core competencies and how these competencies will be developed

* How will our company create a unique identity for itself

* What type of culture will be best and how it will evolve

Every entrepreneur while starting an organization has to decide what role his company wants to play in the selected industry. There can be many entry points like in Intopia these were - PC manufacturing, Chip manufacturing or a Distributor and several other combinations. One has to decide on the model considering:

* Best model that fits resources and capabilities to create value for shareholders

* Potential for flexibility in Strategy and Operations

* Barriers and constraints

* Potential for value creation

A major learning came during presentations when the companies were modifying their operating models to address increasing uncertainty and complexity. Distributors were planning to launch their brand PC, PC manufactures were focusing on chips, and contract manufacturer were planning to position their product in retail market - All these were the symptoms that these companies were adapting and in the beginning failed to identify all the opportunities provided in the world of Intopia. Executives of these companies might have assumed that they can grow by simply expanding. It seemed we all assumed that the world of Intopia is designed to create and capitalize on growth. But, executives should understand that growth in industry is very visible and bountiful but stagnation goes undetected. The examples of companies listed might not be prepared for stagnation (which occurs at some time in most industries) and created fictitious constraints for their organizations and in their thought process. They decided to operate within the boundaries they defined of their own and failed to break those boundaries at the right time. This phenomenon can also be related to the bias of underestimating uncertainty where over simplification might prevent managers to prepare for a changing environment. It leads to missed opportunities like:

* Guarding against obsolescence

* Integrating change in organizational culture

* Building flexible supply chain