PTW/PI All-Stars Book Club – Chapter Twenty-One
Integrating Business Model Generation with the Playing to Win cascade reveals that most companies mistake operational models for strategic ones—treating business model design as an execution problem rather than a genuine choice about where and how to compete.
Summary
Martin connects Osterwalder Business Model Generation canvas to his own Playing to Win strategic cascade, arguing a business model describes how a company operates but does not specify where and how it wins competitively. It becomes strategic only when paired with explicit choices about winning aspiration, where-to-play, and how-to-win. He argues companies commonly design compelling business models without making genuine strategic choices, producing an operating system with no competitive positioning.
Editor's opinion
A useful reminder that a business model canvas is not a strategy, but the underlying point, operations versus competitive positioning, is not new.
Key concepts
Playing to Win · business model strategy · where-to-play · strategic choice cascade · business model vs. strategy