The toolkit
Frameworks, applied.
The standard set of strategy and consulting tools — the ones worth reaching for to understand a business, value it, judge it as an investment, and drive it forward. Each one explained plainly and, where the work allows, run against a real business in public.
22tools
22 written · 0 forthcoming Organized by Brad Arner
External environment
The forces and structure around the business.
- PESTELA scan of the macro forces — political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal — that move beneath an industry. Reduce risk
- Porter's Five ForcesWhy some industries are structurally profitable and others starve — read through five competitive pressures. Strengthen competitive advantage
- Market Sizing (TAM/SAM/SOM)The nested estimate of how big the prize actually is — total, serviceable, and obtainable. Expand markets
Competitive & market intelligence
Where the business sits against everyone else.
- Perceptual / Positioning Map InteractiveA 2×2 that plots you and your competitors on the two dimensions customers actually use to choose. Strengthen competitive advantage
- Competitive Landscape MatrixA side-by-side of you against 5–10 rivals across the dimensions customers care about. Strengthen competitive advantage
- Market Segmentation MapA partition of the market into groups that buy for different reasons, with different economics. Acquire customers
Internal analysis
How the business creates value inside its own walls.
- SWOTStrengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats — useful only when grounded in real competitive evidence, not opinion. Strengthen competitive advantage
- Value Chain Analysis InteractiveA map of every activity the business performs, and where each one creates value — or leaks it. Improve operational efficiency
- McKinsey 7SA coherence check across seven interdependent elements: strategy, structure, systems, skills, staff, style, shared values. Build organizational capability
- Core Competency AuditAn honest inventory of what the business can actually win at — and what it only believes it can. Strengthen competitive advantage
Strategy & decisions
Choosing what to do, and what to stop doing.
- Ansoff MatrixA 2×2 of growth bets: existing vs. new markets, existing vs. new products. Increase revenue
- BCG MatrixA portfolio view — stars, cash cows, question marks, dogs — for a business with multiple revenue streams. Generate cash
- Value Proposition CanvasA check on whether the offer actually fits the customer’s jobs, pains, and gains. Increase customer value
- Impact / Effort MatrixA prioritization 2×2 — impact against effort — for a backlog of initiatives. Improve operational efficiency
- Business Model Canvas InteractiveThe full nine-block picture of how a business creates, delivers, and captures value. Increase revenue
- Opportunity Solution TreeA top-down tree from a single outcome, through customer opportunities, to solutions, to the experiments that test them. Build organizational capability
Customer understanding
What customers are really hiring the business for.
- Customer Journey MapThe end-to-end path a customer travels, stage by stage, with the friction made visible. Retain customers
- Jobs-to-be-DoneA reframing of what customers are really hiring the product to do — and who they’re really choosing between. Acquire customers
- Persona ProfilesComposite portraits of the distinct customer types the business actually serves. Acquire customers
Financial
Whether the economics actually hold together.
- Break-even AnalysisThe volume at which revenue covers cost — the floor every pricing and capacity decision sits on. Reduce costs
- Unit Economics (LTV / CAC / payback)The economics of a single customer — lifetime value, acquisition cost, and how long until payback. Increase customer value
- Scenario Modeling (base / bull / bear)A small set of internally consistent futures — base, bull, bear — instead of one false-precision forecast. Reduce risk