The Strategy Show

Should a successful business take the plunge and expand overseas? International expansion offers the potential for new customers, increased revenues and greater economies of scale. But it also brings financial, competitive and operational challenges. In this episode of The Strategy Show, we explore Kenichi Ohmae's 5Cs framework: Customers, Company, Competition, Currency and Country. Is interna...

Should products last forever, or is there a commercial advantage in making customers replace them? In this episode of The Strategy Show, we explore planned obsolescence – the practice of designing products with a limited useful life to encourage repeat purchases. An exploration of customer trust, innovation, profitability and the challenge of balancing commercial success with corporate responsibil...

What does a business actually have, and what is it particularly good at doing? This episode explores resources, threshold competences and core competences , using real-world examples including Amazon, Apple, IKEA, Ryanair, Coca-Cola and Nokia. We look at how businesses turn resources into competitive advantage — and why being good at something today doesn't necessarily mean you'll still be...

The UK coffee market is still growing - so why is Costa making losses?

Amazon isn’t really a retailer. It started by selling books, but today it makes money from customers, sellers, advertising, Prime subscriptions and AWS. So what’s the secret? The Amazon flywheel — a business model where each part makes the others more valuable. In this video, we break down how Amazon built one of the most powerful business ecosystems in the world.

Why would a company spend billions developing a product, sell it for millions of pounds — and then make relatively little profit from the sale? Because the engine isn't really the business. Companies such as Rolls-Royce, GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney have built a remarkable business model around the jet engines they sell to commercial airlines, which we explore in this episode.

In this quick episode we look at the concept of the 'Doorman Fallacy' and what it means for managers - especially in the context of change management and business restructuring.

Acquisitions can accelerate growth overnight - or destroy billions in value just as quickly. This episode explores the strategic battle between organic growth and buying size, using real examples of companies that mastered it… and others that paid heavily for chasing growth too fast.

When sustainability gets expensive, what should businesses do? In this episode, we examine the growing tension between profitability and sustainability. With rising energy costs, investor pressure, and cautious consumers, companies are being forced into tough strategic trade-offs. Using real-world examples from industries like energy, aviation, and manufacturing, we explore why going green isn’t a...

In this episode we look at the thorny issue of the conglomerate - what is it, why did they become popular and why do they seem to be going out of fashion? As always, we help you understand the business world around you by looking at strategy theory and real world examples.

What happens when a sustainability success story suddenly changes direction? In this episode, we unpack the surprising shift of Allbirds - from a purpose-driven, eco-friendly footwear brand to exploring a future in AI infrastructure. Why would a company pivot so dramatically? Is this bold strategic reinvention… or a sign of deeper problems? Using core strategy frameworks and real-world analysis, w...

In this episode we'll be looking at the Balanced Scorecard and how (and if) it really works in the modern world.

In this episode we will look at Porter's Diamond - how it works in the real world, where it fails and how useful it is in a business setting. Get yourself familiar with this classic model and why it still matters.

In this episode we take an in depth look at the BCG and its origins. We'll look at how it works for business strategy, where it falls down in the real world and how it gets used in the modern, digital world. We use real world examples to show you how this theory works (and fails) in reality.

In this episode we'll be using Peleton as a case study of how strategy can go wrong and how businesses can still successfully turn themselves around. We'll look at how key strategic models like Five Forces, Ansoff and Generic Strategies can all give us insights into company behaviour.

In this episode we examine the importance of understanding the competitive industry you operate in - using the key models of Porter's Five Forces and the Industry Life Cycle. We'll also spend some time considering just how useful these traditional models are in the modern digital world.

In this episode we look at a classic model - Ansoff's Matrix. We'll look at how this key business strategy model works in the real world and where it breaks down in today's fast-paced industries - with real world examples.

In today's episode, we have a special guest, Martin - a project manager with over 30 years experience - to help chat through the main types of organisational structure. We'll cover traditional structures, Mintzberg's organisational configurations, top-down and bottom-up structures, as well as virtual, flexible organisations.

In this episode we are looking at one of the fundamental models used to decide on an organisation's strategic approach to attracting customers and beating its rivals - the Generic Strategies. We use real world examples to talk you through each of Porter's business strategies and examine how well the model really works in the modern world.

In this episode we take an in depth look at the corporate failure of NCP in the UK. We'll look at how strategic models like PESTEL, Porter's Five Forces and the Value Chain can help us understand where the company went wrong - and what NCP could have done differently to avoid collapse. Our goal in this episode is to give you a real-world demonstration of some key strategic frameworks and s...

In this episode we take a look at mission statements - why do companies use them? How useful are they really? And how do we make sure that our employees are paying attention to them?

In this episode we look at how organisations identify their stakeholders and why it matters. We'll take a look at Mendelow's Matrix with some real world examples to show how businesses strategically manage they stakeholders - and why it's not as easy as it sounds!

In this episode, we look at the two classic examples of strategic decision making - the rational and emergent models. We'll look at how they work for real companies and where they fail. We'll also take a look at how they are used in the real world as the global environment becomes increasingly uncertain.

In this episode we break down the key concepts of Porter's incredibly important Value Chain model and show you how they apply in business. We examine the concept of linkages and the value system to understand how many successful companies gain competitive advantage.

In this episode we are taking a look at why business ethics matters, why it can be beneficial and what the risks are. We will consider ethical frameworks and look at how they apply in the real world, with a particular focus on sustainability.