offense – Exploiting Change

The Four Building Blocks of Strategy

Richard Martin July 2, 2017 No Comments

The four basic options–conceding, confronting, competing, and cooperating–constitute the building blocks of any strategy.

Is Canada Facing an Incipient Refugee Crisis?

Richard Martin March 1, 2017 2 Comments

Strategic Readiness Bulletin Number 1 – 1 March 2017 By Richard Martin, founder and president, Alcera Consulting Inc. Richard Martin issues Strategic Readiness Bulletins on

Progress is a stairway, not a high jump!

Richard Martin September 28, 2016 No Comments

You make progress in increments, climbing from one step to the next in a succession of achievable bounds.

Create dilemmas for your opponents

Richard Martin November 23, 2015 No Comments

Since the IS-perpetrated terrorist strikes in Paris there has been surge of “advice” and debate on the best strategy to adopt against the Islamic State in the Middle East. The problem is that most of the discussion confuses tactics with strategy and then presents these as mutual exclusive.

Make small, probing advances with new or modified products, services, capabilities, and business models

Richard Martin July 13, 2015 No Comments

You learn more by moving than by staying put. The normal impulse is to stay put and defend your position when you don’t know where to go or what to do. Unfortunately, this leaves you open to rapid change in the market as well as competitive threats.

Regularly evaluate your offensive posture

Richard Martin June 2, 2015 No Comments

If you can’t answer positively to at least 3 of these 5 questions, then you’re letting others take the lead and have lost the initiative. You’re a commodity, not a brand.

Send out scouting parties before your commit your main forces

Richard Martin May 4, 2015 No Comments

Time spend in reconnaissance is rarely wasted. Whenever a military force is advancing against enemy positions, it always sends out scouting parties to reconnoitre the terrain, confirm enemy positions and strength, and find gaps and weaknesses in the defences.

Marshall your forces before a major operation to maximize your chances of success

Richard Martin January 26, 2015 No Comments

Marshall your forces before a major operation to maximize your chances of success.

Target Should Have Started with a Bridgehead and Phased Expansion in Canada

Richard Martin January 19, 2015 No Comments

Last week Target announced that it was shutting down completely its Canadian operation, all 133 stores, and taking a $5.4 billion writedown. What was originally supposed to be the beginning of a glorious international expansion has turned into a lesson in humility and hubris.

Time spent in reconnaissance is rarely wasted

Richard Martin December 8, 2014 No Comments

We’ve been looking at the 6 steps in the simplified “battle procedure” for business. So far we’ve covered steps 1 and 2, respectively: warning and time estimate. This week we cover step 3, reconnaissance.

The Four Building Blocks of Strategy

Is Canada Facing an Incipient Refugee Crisis?

Progress is a stairway, not a high jump!

Create dilemmas for your opponents

Make small, probing advances with new or modified products, services, capabilities, and business models

Regularly evaluate your offensive posture

Send out scouting parties before your commit your main forces

Marshall your forces before a major operation to maximize your chances of success

Target Should Have Started with a Bridgehead and Phased Expansion in Canada

Time spent in reconnaissance is rarely wasted

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