Every week, we put together a list of our top 5 articles of the past week. Happy reading!
Modern Software Moats Nandu Anilal (reading time: 19 minutes)
We’ve covered competitive advantages many times over the years and it remains one of the most hard to define concepts in business. I really enjoyed Hamilton Helmer’s 7 Powers. It’s widely applicable to every type of business. In this post by Nandu Aninal, he uses the 7 power framework to understand its applicability to software companies. It is highly relevant for any strategist out there.
Shopify: Evolution of a Leader Nongaap Investing (reading time: 20 minutes)
Companies are on a dynamic journey with an unknown future. Consequently, if you’re trying to invest “long term”, you have to accept the investment thesis will evolve and change over time as new information and new uncertainties are introduced.
I am a bit of a Shopify fanboy. Not just because I am a happy shareholder but as a Canadian working in the tech space, they are simply crushing it. This post covers a big reason for their success, their CEO. It displays the evolution of Tobi Lutke as a leader and how he has intelligently approached company building, strategy and culture.
From Strategy to Planning Roger Martin (reading time: 8 minutes)
An organization shouldn’t have one humongous plan. It has many — in fact one for every manager. Attempting to smoosh them together into one interminably long document creates no value — except to bureaucrats
At work, we divide strategy into two parts: strategy design and strategy execution. Roger Martin attacks this issue in his latest post, he describes how it hinges on a set of choices and uses the example of the Burberry turnaround to illustrate it.
Employees Are Quitting Instead of Giving Up Working From Home Bloomberg (reading time: 26 minutes)
For better or for worse, we’ve decided to stay fully remote. Our bet is based on attracting top talent and the ability to be more productive. This is of course the biggest debate at the moment; should people be forced to come back to the office or will a hybrid model work? This post in Bloomberg highlights that many are foregoing the office and not simply obeying what high level management wants.
