Creating your Strategy Part 1

i. Michael Porter’s definition of Strategy – Strategy describes how a company creates a unique and valuable position through a set of differentiating actions.
 
ii. Strategy as per the dictionary is - A plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.
 
Strategy is, therefore, a structure of success (list of actions) to achieve the BHAG (our intention) on the way to fulfil the Purpose of our business (our Dream).
 
iii. Once a 10 to 30 years BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is defined based on the Purpose, 3HAG (3 Years Highly Achievable Goal) is defined in alignment with the BHAG.
 
iv. From 3HAG, we arrive at 1HAG (1 Year Highly Achievable Goal) from where the Quarterly Priorities for the Business are identified and based on that, for each individual. Then, the full attention is on achieving the quarterly priorities, one week at a time, at the level of each individual (13 week race).
 
v. All of this along with the other details of the strategy is captured in the One-Page-Strategic Plan to keep the big dream alive in the mind, heart and soul; while the game is played in the moment to achieve the weekly metrics on the way to the quarterly priorities moving the business forward towards fulfilling the BHAG and Purpose, one quarter at a time.
 
The leadership team have OPSPs while the rest of the organization runs with a summary of the OPSP – Vision Summary.
 
vi. You don’t have a real strategy if it doesn’t pass these three tests –
a. what you are planning to do really matters to your existing and potential customers 
b. it differentiates you from your competition
c. you can be the best in executing it
(Inspired from Gary Hamel and Verne Harnish)
 
a. What you are planning to do really matters to your existing and potential customers – means you use Customer Insights to design a product / service they will chase you to buy from, instead of you having to chase them to buy from you. You continue to use Customer Insights to iterate your product / service ongoingly to contribute to your customers in a way that would most make a difference to them. That is why collection and reflection of Customer Insights is baked as part of the Meeting Rhythm, more specifically – Weekly Meeting between you and your Leadership Team. 

The below questions are great to ask customers and employees. The weekly routine of collecting and reviewing ongoing feedback from customers and employees is part of your Weekly Meeting Rhythm with your Leadership Team.

Q1. What do you think <company name> should start doing?
Q2. What do you think <company name> should stop doing?
Q3. What do you think <company name> should keep doing?

Business Model Canvas is a good framework to keep iterating your product / service in a way that really matters to your existing and potential customers.
 
b. It differentiates you from your competition – Hamel's contributions to strategic thinking challenges traditional approaches, encouraging businesses to focus on innovation, customer-centricity, and long-term value creation as critical elements of differentiation.

​The Blue Ocean Strategy framework is a good way to arrive at this.
 
c. You can be the best in executing it – Use Rockefeller Habits to be the best at executing your strategy.
 
vii. For a powerful strategy, there has to be a tight alignment between Purpose, Core Values, BHAG, Impact / X, Job-to-be-done, Brand Promises and Words We Own. The one-word or phrase that aligns all of these becomes the Words We Own.
 
That’s what it means to boil your business to 1 word or phrase.
 
It would be evident on the Vision Summary if there’s a horizontal alignment and a vertical alignment.

Download the below document for you to work on identifying and articulating your strategy.

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The below explains how the strategy is build using RYD as an example. Use the below example to understand the different elements of the Strategy for you to create your own using the working document above. Once you have the first level of clarity through the above working document, you can update the 7-Strata Scaling-up tool to get one-page view of your Strategy.​

1. Purpose: The Reason for our Existence: Our Why: The Game we are Playing

The Purpose of the Business is the name of the Game. Core Values are the rules of the Game, defining how the game is to be played. BHAG is the Score Board which clarifies to everyone what winning means. 

For RYD,
Our Purpose is to support people to Have It All; and be happy, healthy and prosperous.
 
2. Core Values: Our Guiding Light: Our How: The Rules of our Game
Articulate the Core Values in a simple way that it is clear to your people how to live those values through their work. Write in the 'We' form for the Values to become Shared, instead of using language that feels that the Values are being imposed on them or that you are telling them how to be.

Altassian has build their business to USD 380 Billion on the strength of their Core Values:
Altassian's Core Values

Here are RYD's Core Values which are simply the expression of the Gears of Consciousness for us to build an organization based on what we most believe in.

The RYD Way
 
A. Agility of Mind: Love – Love for self: I am extraordinary and I love myself: We relate to our own self as extraordinary. We love and nurture our own self – physically, energetically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. We respect ourselves by respecting our roots and contribute to the world through the wisdom of our ancient heritage.
        
B. Being of Service: Gratitude: You are extraordinary and I love you: We relate to each one in our space as extraordinary. We deeply care for each one in our space and contribute with what would most serve them.
 
C. Communicating Powerfully in the World of Others: Reverence: I am a channel of impact. I am making a difference. I trust the Universe. I trust the process of life. The Universe is gifting me my Highest Good, moment to moment: We communicate powerfully in the world of others by being an empty space, a channel of impact to make a difference with childlike trust and faith in the Universe and in the process of life. We are Honesty, Truth and Vulnerable Authenticity; which supports us to be an Empty Soothing Nurturing Space for others to fully experience themselves. We seek to understand than to be understood.
 
D. Delivering on our Word: Integrity: ​I am whole, complete and perfect as I am right now. You are whole, complete and perfect as you are right now. Life is whole, complete and perfect as it is right now. I am my Word. I believe in myself. I believe in you: We honour our Word. We do what we said we would do, by the time we said we would, in a way we meant to. We practice before we coach. People experience their own greatness in our space.
 
E. Excellence: Mastery – Love for all beings and all things: I love, accept and respect myself as I am right now. I love, accept and respect you as you are right now. I love, accept and respect Life as it is right now: We play to be the world’s best in what we do by learning and integrating from Masters from around the world. We actively work on all the 3 RYD Growth Levers (Leadership Depth, Craft Mastery, Business Excellence) to joyously lead ourselves and our work from good to great, realize our dreams and Have It All with ease and grace; while having lots of fun and adventure along the way. We realize our highest potential to make a massive positive impact by living our Purpose through the work we do. Our dreams are impossible, unimaginable and crazy-big because that defines the growth we have committed ourselves to this Lifetime. People experience each other as extraordinary in our space.

If our Purpose is not being delivered to our people, then how will our Purpose be delivered by our people to our customers. Therefore, the Purpose shows up as a Value to be lived.
 
​
3. The Foundation for the RYD Good to Great Journey - The 3 Growth Levers of RYD
(similar to Jim Collins' Hedgehog Concept and Simon Sinek's The Golden Circle)

RYD has been used as an example to explain:
 
i. Leadership Depth: The WHY: Purpose: Soul: Which problem in the world will deeply fulfil us to solve?

Raising human consciousness for people to Have It All and be happy, healthy and prosperous. 

Link this back to how our Quest led to our Purpose, which led us to the Purpose of our Business. Since it is in giving that we receive, our Quest became our Purpose to give to others what we most want for ourselves.

ii. Craft Mastery: The HOW: Passion: Heart: What do we love doing so much that we are committed to continuously learn and grow to be the world’s best in? What can we be the world’s best in, a game that we can play passionately with all our heart?

We love coaching to support people to journey from good to great and realize their dreams. We are committed and passionate about continuously learning and growing to be the world's best in this craft.

iii. Business Excellence: The WHAT: Problem that People are willing to Pay us for solving: Mind: Money is a perfect expression of our creativity and the difference we are making. Making what difference, creating which positive impact in the lives of people, would have people be willing to pay us for? Economic Engine = Impact / X

What is our Unit of Impact (Impact / X)?

For RYD,
What People are willing to pay us for - Support Business Owners to lead their Business from good to great

Therefore our Unit of Impact, X = Business

Give people what they need through what they want.

For RYD, the intersection of the 3 Circles, the 3 Growth Levers for building a Great Business gives us: Coaching Business Owners to lead themselves and their Business from Good to Great, Realize their Dreams and Have It All.

Boredom and Exhaustion can set in if entrepreneurs are focused on only Business Excellence to earn personal wealth and success.
 
Frustration and Burn-out can set-in if business owners are only focused on Craft Mastery for personal fulfilment because they will end up Doing More and Creating Less Impact.
 
Mediocrity can set-up if the business owners are only focused on Leadership Depth for personal salvation because they will stay in their head feeling that they are growing, rather than having a visceral and lived experience of growth through the spiritual playground of business.
 
That is why to build a great business, we need the intersection of the 3 Circles – Leadership Depth, Craft Mastery, Business Excellence.

The below is the foundation for an aspiring entrepreneur in search of a business idea to determine which first business idea to start the journey with or an early stage entrepreneur in search of the next business model iteration to become profitable.

​Here's a template for you to work on.

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For a medium to a large business, the search for the direction to progress from good to great is a collective one in partnership with the leadership team. Use the below template if you are no longer an early stage business and are in Mountain 3 or beyond of your Business Excellence journey.

Here's a template for you to work on:

ryd_foundation_business_2.0.pptx
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There has to be a tight alignment between Impact Per X, BHAG and Purpose.

BHAG is measured in the same units as the X. And, BHAG is about progressing on the journey to fulfil our Purpose. 

i. What is powering your economic engine? You need to identify the single overarching Key Performance Indicator (KPI) - Impact / X (Jim Collins calls this Profit/X). It defines the essence of your business model.
ii. Does your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG), a term Jim Collins and Jerry Porras trademarked to represent a company’s 10- to 25- year goal, align with this measure of your economic engine?

Impact per X
This metric is valuable because it provides the leaders with a single KPI they can track meticulously to monitor the progress of the business, a great luxury to have. Though the numerator can be any metric you choose - profit, revenue, gross margin, pilots, routes, etc, the denominator is fixed and represents your company’s unique approach to scaling the business.

Southwest Airlines offers a good example. Most airlines focus on profit/mile or profit/seat. Focusing on the big expensive hunks of metal it flies around, Southwest instead laser focuses on maximising profit per plane. That drives the rest of its strategic and tactical decisions. Because, their Impact / X is Profit / Plane, their BHAG would be measured in terms of number of planes. At a unit level, they will maximise their profit per plane and simultaneously, increase the number of planes in the air for scaling their business.

For Red Balloon, an Experience gifting company:
Impact / X is Profit per Experience
BHAG  is measured in terms of Experiences per second

BHAG
It’s also critical that you set the right BHAG. Many companies make the mistake of pulling a random number or statement of aspiration out of thin air. The trouble is when it has no real connection to the company’s underlying strategy.

It’s this specific focus of driving the business around a key unit - planes, experiences, businesses - and then making your long term goal some aspirational number of these units - that makes for a simple, cohesive and powerful vision. 

​
For RYD, Impact / X is

Leaders on their Have It All journey per Business of the Business Owner on the Have It All journey
 
Number of Leaders / Business
 
Specifically,
X = Business in which we are coaching the Business Owner and their Leaders to lead themselves and their business from good to great, realize their dreams and Have It All.
 
Implementation of RYD for a Business is Top-down – from the Business Owner CEO to L1 Leaders to L2 Leaders till all Leaders are on their Good to Great journey with RYD as their structure of success ensuring everyone is rowing the boat of business in the same direction.
 
We shifted our business model by shifting our Impact / X (our economic engine) from Revenue / Coachee (B2C Business) to Revenue / Business (B2B Business) because this shift supports us to fulfil on our Purpose with greater ease, grace and velocity, one business at a time.
 
Another possibility we considered was Revenue / Coach. If we had chosen this Impact / X, our BHAG would be measured in terms of onboarding an aspirational number of RYD Coaches. But, number of RYD Coaches is not a measure of our Purpose to support People to Have It All. For alignment between Impact / X, Purpose and BHAG, we would have to change our Purpose to something like - Support each person in the world to have a Coach, a safe space for them to joyously realize their dreams. Can you see, how RYD Strategy would be completely different from what it is today?

Finding a tight alignment between Purpose, Values, BHAG, Impact / X, Jobs to be Done, Brand Promises and Words we Own is an iterative process. 
​
In our case, we first defined Purpose and Values. Then, BHAG was iterated multiple times and finally became a measure of number of businesses we would impact based on the third Circle, the 3rd Growth Lever (Business Excellence - What contribution will People pay us for?).

That's finally when we arrived at our Impact / X which is at the heart of our new strategy to fulfil on our Purpose by achieving our BHAG as a milestone in that journey. 
 
Resources:
i. 2 Critical Vision Decisions - an article by Verne Harnish
ii. Chapter 5 The Hedgehog Concept – of the book Good to Great by Jim Collins 

4. Our BHAG: Our What: Our Score-Board
RYD 2047 - Our BHAG is to be the world’s best Transformation Ecosystem for Businesses; nurturing 60 Indian Businesses to be Fortune Global 100, 300 Indian Businesses to be Fortune Global 500 and 1000 Indian Businesses to be Forbes Global 2000 as Businesses we coach become Spaces of Grace for people to joyously lead themselves and their business from Good to Great, Realize their Dreams and Have It All with ease and grace; supporting India to be the world's most developed, beautiful, greenest nation with her citizens happiest, healthiest and the most prosperous; creating a Brave New World.
 
Our earlier BHAG in July 2024 was to be the world's best Transformation Ecosystem for Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, Founders and CEOs. Once we became clear that our Impact per X is Impact per Business in Oct 2024, our BHAG changed to be the world’s best Transformation Ecosystem for Businesses. 

This changed our entire strategy and has had an impact on the design of the RYD Program. 

What gave us clarity on our Impact / X? It was a combination of our Purpose, our BHAG (long-term impact we want to create through our business supporting us to fulfil our Purpose) and Customer Insights giving us an understanding of what would make the biggest difference to our coachees.

Here's an article to get a deeper-dive understanding of how Purpose Insights (from Leadership Depth), Craft Insights (from Craft Mastery) and Customer Insights (from Business Excellence) are Way Showers on our journey to lead our business from Good to Great - Nurturing Indian Giants

 
5. Words we Own: 
The Unique and Valuable Position in the mind of our Customers

In RYD, we call our customers Coachees.

The Words We Own:
i. Realize Your Dreams, RYD – is the name of our Community
ii. Good to Great – is the journey we are on and take our coachees on
iii. Have It All – Our One-Phrase Strategy, our Purpose, our Primary Brand Promise, part of one of our Core Values, part of Impact / X, the Job-to-be-Done. This is the one phrase we have boiled our business to.
 
What are the Words You Own or want to Own?

If you want to Own those words, then you have solve a real problem and address a real need in the world. If you think Marketing will get you Words You Own, you couldn't be further from the Truth. Look at the words that some businesses own:

i. BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine
ii. Apple: Think Different 
iii. Southwest Airlines: Wheels Up
iv. Google: Search. They did such a great job of delivering on their Word We Own that Google has become a verb for online searches.
v. Snapchat: Snap 

The Words they Own is the name of their Business Strategy. Everything they do in their Business is aligned to this Strategy. These are not some empty words cooked up by the Marketing team. That's what their business is about.

They first decided what words they wanted to own and consistently delivered on that to own those words in the mind of the customers.

6. Our Core Customers (Who)

Core Customers are a central element in building a strong and sustainable business strategy. They represent the specific group of customers who align most closely with the business’s offerings because they are most contributed to by the business' product / services and therefore, most contribute to the business revenue and growth. These are the customers who value your unique proposition the most and are willing to advocate for your brand because your product / service makes a huge difference to them.

Therefore, our job is to find our core customers who we can most contribute to through our products / services.

Key points about core customers:

i. Deep Understanding of Their Needs:
Core customers are not just buyers; they have unique challenges, desires, and needs that your business is uniquely positioned to address. Understanding their demographics, psychographics, and behavioural traits will help you to make a bigger difference to them.
ii. Alignment with Business Purpose:
​They are customers who align with your company’s Purpose, Values, and BHAG. Serving them strengthens the brand's authenticity and purpose.
iii. Lifetime Value:
These customers have a higher lifetime value (LTV). They not only purchase more frequently but are also more loyal, reducing cost and effort to reach them over time because your products / services serve them over a lifetime in a way that they value deeply. Therefore, design your products / services to serve your core customer over their lifetime in a way that is meaningful for them.
iv. Advocacy:
Core customers often become brand ambassadors, promoting the business through word of mouth and generating organic growth because they are touched, moved and inspired by your contribution to them and their lives.
v. Clarity on Niche:
Identifying core customers helps clarify the niche or segment the business makes the most difference to. Serving these customer segments supports the business to DLCM - Do Less to Create More impact, as measured through customer segments with the highest return.

For example, Apple’s core customers are creative professionals and tech-savvy individuals who value design and innovation. Their strategy focuses heavily on appealing to this segment.

For RYD, our Core Customers are Business Owners who are committed to make a massive positive impact through their business, deeply value Having It All and are inspired by the joyously fulfilling lifelong evolutionary journey of learning, growth and transformation from good to great.
 
Steps to define Core Customers and understand the Job-to-be-Done:
i. Customer Insights
Engage directly with current customers to understand why they chose your product or service and what they value most.
ii. Analyze Customer Data
Identify patterns in purchase behaviour, repeat purchases, and product usage by using tools like CRM systems or analytics.
iii. Create Customer Personas
Develop detailed profiles representing your core customers, including their goals, challenges, and decision-making processes. 
iv. Evaluate Profitability: Focus on the customers who provide the highest profitability while requiring the least amount of resources by identifying the customers to whom your products / services make the biggest difference.


7. Products and Services (What)

Here are are key points to remember while developing Products and Services:
i. Alignment with Core Customer Needs:
Your products and services must address the specific pain points, desires, or aspirations of your core customers.

​For example: Tesla’s electric vehicles cater to eco-conscious consumers who seek innovation, luxury, and sustainability.

ii. Integration with the Brand Promise:
The offerings should fulfil the promise you make to customers. Identify the Job-to-be-Done, make it your Brand Promise and deliver on it through your products / services.

For example, FedEx promises "absolute, positive, on-time delivery," and its logistics services align perfectly with this commitment.

iii. Differentiation:
What makes your product or service unique? It could be features, pricing, customer experience, or delivery model.

iv. Simplification of Decision-Making:
Simplify the customer’s decision-making process by clearly communicating their value and benefits in the language they understand. Learn your core customer's language by deeply engaging with them. Weekly Customer and Employee Insights as codified through the Scaling-up Weekly Meeting with your Leadership Team is crucial is building a business that is profitable, successful and sustainable.

For example: Apple’s product ecosystem (iPhone, MacBook, AirPods) simplifies customer choices through seamless integration and ease of use.

v. Revenue Drivers:
Offerings should contribute to significant and sustainable revenue streams, either by volume, pricing power, or a combination of both because significant and sustainable revenue indicates that the offering is creating a positive impact in the lives of people. Money is the expression of the difference you are making. If you are struggling to generate revenue, roll up your sleeves and sell to customers day-in day-out because there is no better way of understanding what they really need and care about.

How to Develop Products and Services?
i. Customer Feedback Loop:
Continuously gather and analyze feedback from your core customers to refine and improve your offerings.
ii. Focus on Differentiation:
Identify the features or benefits that make a massive difference to your customers. That will set your products and services apart from competitors.
iii. Iterate for Excellence:
Use customer insights and market trends to innovate and adapt to evolving needs of your customers so that you continue to contribute to them in ways they have no right to expect.
iv. Evaluate Scalability:
Ensure your offerings are scalable to meet demand without compromising quality or value.
v. Maintain Alignment with Strategy:
Ensure that all offerings reinforce your brand promise and help achieve your long-term Purpose.


For RYD, our offering is:
Coaching Business Owners and their Leaders to lead themselves and their business from good to great, realize their dreams and Have It All by living their Purpose through their work to create  massive positive impact in the world through 3 growth levers – Leadership Depth, Craft Mastery, Business Excellence.

 
8. Brand Promises and Kept Promise Indicator (KPI)
Brand Promises define what a company pledges to its customers, while Kept Promise Indicators (KPIs) are the measurable metrics that assess whether the company is living up to those promises. Together, they help companies build trust, loyalty, and a reputation for reliability, which are key to long-term business success.
 
What is the Job-to-be-Done by your product / service for your customer? This Job-to-be-done becomes the Brand Promise because you want to promise and deliver to the customer the job that they need done.

A good framework to discover the Brand Promises which is another word for Job-to-be-Done is the Business Model Canvas, which gives a one-page view for the whole business and a process for identifying the hypotheses / assumptions made by the leadership team and validating them through direct customer engagement. 

For RYD, our promises are
i. Lead your Business from good to great - 2x Cash Flow, 3x Profitability, 10x Valuation - over 5 years; along with more time on your hand
ii. RYD - Dreams realized as per the 5-Year Dream Lifestyle in 5 years
iii. Have It All - Personal, Relationship, Business, Leadership and Life transformation year on year

Journey Shares by our coachees at the end of an RYD Year are a way for us to assess if we kept our promise and to give us inputs on how to keep evolving our product in a way that it most fulfils the job-to-be-done for our coachees.
 
9. Brand Promise Guarantee
The existence of a guarantee gives customers the confidence to do business with you and encourages customers to share their concerns with you. 

A Brand Promise Guarantee is a bold assurance a company gives to customers to strengthen its brand promise and build trust. It is a risk-reduction mechanism for customers and is an expression of the company's confidence in its ability to deliver on its promise.
A strong Brand Promise Guarantee should be:
i. Be specific and measurable.
ii. Address the biggest concerns or fears of the customer.
iii. Be meaningful, demonstrating commitment to the promise.
iv. Be credible, ensuring the company can consistently fulfil it.

Few examples of Brand Promise Guarantees:
i. FedEx: "Absolutely, positively overnight"
Guarantee: If FedEx fails to deliver your package overnight as promised, you don’t pay.
ii. Domino’s Pizza: "You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less, or it’s free."
Guarantee: Domino’s took the risk of losing money if they failed to deliver within the guaranteed time, making their promise bold and actionable.
iii. Zappos: "365-Day Return Policy with Free Shipping Both Ways"
Guarantee: Customers can return any product for up to a year without additional costs, giving confidence in Zappos’ product quality and service.
iv. Southwest Airlines: "Bags Fly Free"
Guarantee: Unlike competitors, Southwest Airlines eliminates baggage fees entirely, making it part of their value proposition.
v. Ritz-Carlton: "We’re Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen"
Guarantee: Employees are empowered to spend up to $2,000 to resolve any guest complaint, ensuring top-tier service and guest satisfaction.
vi. Amazon Prime: "Two-Day Free Shipping Guaranteed on Prime-Eligible Items"
Guarantee: Amazon commits to delivering Prime-eligible items within two days, ensuring fast and reliable service.
vii. Hyundai Assurance Program: "If you lose your job, return the car."
Guarantee: During an economic downturn, Hyundai offered buyers the option to return their cars if they lost their jobs, reducing financial risk for customers.

A Brand Promise Guarantee makes a company's promise more credible by addressing customer concerns directly and offering compensation or reassurance if the promise isn’t met. It is not only a powerful tool to differentiate a brand, build trust, and attract loyal customers; but also a way to build operational excellence because the entire organization needs to be geared towards excellence to deliver on the brand promise or risk paying compensation and losing trust.

In RYD, here are the various ways we safeguard the interests of our coachees:
i. Awaken Journey - 2 gift deep-dives for them to experience our coaching methodology before joining RYD. Their Good to Great journey starts with their investment of time, effort and energy; but without investment of money. If they are not a 10 on 10 about the coach or RYD as their structure of success for their ongoing Good to Great journey after their Awaken Journey with us, they are encouraged not to onboard.
ii. Quarterly Investments for a one-year program. 
iii. Awaken Journey (2 gift deep-dives) after every year of Hero's Journey for coachees to self-assess and explore if progressing to the next year would contribute to them.

11. One-Phrase Strategy (Key to Making Money)

The One-Phrase Strategy is a succinct and powerful way to summarise a company’s entire strategy into a single, memorable phrase. 

Key points about One-Phrase Strategy:
i. Simplicity: The strategy is concise and easy to understand.
ii. Focus: It highlights one key priority or goal that drives the company's efforts.
iii. Alignment: It unites all employees, departments, and stakeholders around a common purpose.
iv. Actionable: It serves as a foundation for setting clear objectives and measuring progress.

For example, a company could have a One-Phrase Strategy like "Be the Fastest in Our Industry" or "Deliver Unmatched Customer Service." This simple phrase guides all decisions, actions, and communications within the company, ensuring everyone is working towards the same goal.

The One-Phrase Strategy is a key to making money because it helps businesses focus on a clear, actionable path towards impact, growth and profitability. By summarising the strategy into a simple, memorable phrase, it enables companies to make decisions that are aligned with their core objectives, maximise efficiency, and create a strong, unified direction - all of which directly contribute to financial success which is an expression of the difference the business is making to their customers and their employees.

For RYD, our One-Phrase Strategy is - Have It All
 
12. Differentiating Activities ( 3 to 5 Hows)
Differentiating Activities are the Structure of Success (Input Actions) for delivering on the Brand Promises. 
i. These specific activities (the "Hows") make the company unique and help it succeed. 
ii. These special activities are what make the business different and better at what it does. 
iii. These activities directly benefits the customers and makes their experience better. 
iv. These activities are clear enough to track and improve.
v. Competitors can’t easily copy these activities because the company has solved an unsolvable customer problem through creativity and innovation, so the company becomes known for them.

For example:
If a company’s goal is to "Be the Fastest Delivery Service", their 3 to 5 Hows could be:
i. Use fast delivery trucks to get products to customers quickly.
ii. Make the ordering process simple so customers can place orders easily.
iii. Offer excellent customer service so customers feel happy and valued.
These are the key things the company does to make sure it’s the fastest, and by focusing on them, the company stands out from the competition because doing things quickly, simply, easily and excellently are difficult to do. It's easy to copy on-the-surface shifts but difficult to copy truly great transformative shifts which are the ones that make a real difference.

For RYD, our 5 Differentiating Activities are:
i. Nurturing Space – Coaching from a place of Love. This requires the RYD Coaches to continue their lifelong evolutionary journey to raise their consciousness to not only coach but to live from Gear 5 Consciousness
ii. Community Model - RYD Circle of Love and RYD Soul. This requires an effort at a higher consciousness level to build, nurture and strengthen the community of RYD Coachees and RYD Coaches.
iii. Health, Fitness and Joyous Well-being across all the 5 Bodies through RYD Transformative Practises and RYD Growth Habits – Physical, Energy, Emotional, Mental, Spiritual
iv. From Dreaming to Reality using 3 Growth Levers to realize your Highest Potential – Leadership Depth, Craft Mastery, Business Excellence
v. Having It All through Integrated Coaching across 5 areas of Wheel of Life –
a. Deeply fulfilling, successful, profitable business gifting you with impact, purpose and financial freedom
b. Loving, positive, harmonious, uplifting relationships at work, at home and in the world
c. Happy, healthy, responsible, confident kids with their genius joyously expressed
d. Nourishing and nurturing yourself to the highest level of health, fitness and joyous well-being -physically, energetically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually
e. Making a massive difference through the work you do

We didn't arrive at the above activities because we wanted to stand out in the market place, distinctly different from the competition. Our intention simply was, is and will always be to make a massive difference to the one person in front of us.

 
13. X-Factor (10X - 100X underlying advantage)

The X-Factor is a transformative, game-changing advantage that gives a company a 10X to 100X edge over competitors. 

Discovering your X-Factor requires deep analysis of your business, industry, and customers to uncover opportunities where you can innovate to make a massive difference. 

Here are steps to discover your X-Factor:

i. Analyze Industry Chokepoints
a. What to do: Identify bottlenecks, critical dependencies, or inefficiencies in your industry that most businesses struggle with.
b. Questions to ask:
Q1. What part of the value chain do customers or competitors rely on most?
Q2. Is there a resource, process, or technology that the entire industry depends on?
Q3. What frustrates customers about current industry norms?
c. Why it matters: Solving a chokepoint will support you to make a massive difference not only to your customers but to your industry itself, resulting in substantial increase in revenue and profitability.

ii. Examine Your Business Model
a. What to do: Review how you create, deliver, and capture value for customers through the Business Model Canvas. Look for areas to amplify or disrupt through innovation.
b. Questions to ask:
Q1. What part of our business model delivers the most value to customers?
Q2. Can we reduce costs or improve efficiency in a way competitors can’t match?
Q3. Are there under-utilised assets or capabilities we can scale?
c. Why it matters: An X-Factor integrated into your business model strengthens your entire operation.

iii. Leverage Core Competencies
a. What to do: Identify your company’s unique strengths, resources, or expertise that competitors lack.
b. Questions to ask:
Q1. What do we do better than anyone else?
Q2. Do we have proprietary technology, processes, or intellectual property?
Q3. How can we use our strengths to dominate a key area of the market?
c. Why it matters: Building on core strengths makes the X-Factor hard to replicate.

iv. Understand Customer Pain Points
a. What to do: Dive deep into your customers’ needs, frustrations, and desires to find opportunities to deliver 10X-100X value.
b. Questions to ask:
Q1. What problems are customers trying to solve that the industry doesn’t address well?
Q2. How can we provide faster, cheaper, or higher-quality solutions?
Q3. Are there ways to simplify or transform the customer experience?
c. Why it matters: Addressing unmet needs or frustrations can create unparalleled customer loyalty.

v. Study Adjacent and Emerging Markets
a. What to do: Look beyond your immediate industry to explore trends, technologies, or practices you can adapt to gain an advantage.
b. Questions to ask:
Q1. Are there innovations in other industries we can apply?
Q2. What future trends could disrupt our market, and how can we lead the change?
Q3. Are there gaps in the market we can fill with our expertise?
c. Why it matters: Disruptive ideas often come from outside the industry.

vi. Test for Scalability
a. What to do: Ensure your potential X-Factor can scale exponentially without proportional increases in cost or effort.
b. Questions to ask:
Q1. Can this idea work at 10X-100X the scale?
Q2. Are there systems or technologies that can support rapid growth?
Q3. Will this continue to provide a competitive advantage as we grow?
c. Why it matters: A true X-Factor creates long-term leverage, not just a temporary edge.

vii. Brainstorm and Experiment
a. What to do: Engage your team in creative problem-solving and prototype solutions to test for 10X-100X potential.
b. Questions to ask:
Q1. What would it take to achieve 10X results in key areas?
Q2. If we could rewrite industry rules, what would we change?
Q3. What bold moves can we test that competitors wouldn’t dare try?
c. Why it matters: Innovation often comes from bold thinking and iterative experimentation.

Discovering your X-Factor takes time, analysis, and creativity.

The best X-Factors:
i. Address industry chokepoints, giving you control or leverage.
ii. Align with and amplify your business model.
iii. Solve meaningful customer problems.
iv. Are scalable and difficult to copy.

When you find and deploy your X-Factor, it positions your business to dominate the market and sustain long-term growth.

Here are some examples of X-Factors of businesses that possess a 10X-100X advantage by leveraging unique capabilities, industry chokepoints, and scalable solutions:

i. Amazon - Fulfilment Network
a. X-Factor: Advanced logistics and fulfilment systems enable Amazon to deliver products faster and more reliably than competitors.
b. Why it’s an X-Factor:
b1. Solves a key industry chokepoint: Efficient delivery and inventory management.
b2. Integrated into Amazon’s business model: Supports its customer-centric promise of fast, low-cost delivery.
b3. Scalable: Automation, data analytics, and global infrastructure ensure continued dominance.

ii. Google – Search Algorithm
a. X-Factor: Proprietary algorithms that provide the most relevant search results with unmatched speed and accuracy.
b. Why it’s an X-Factor:
b1. Controls a major industry chokepoint: The primary gateway for online information and advertising.
b2. Drives its business model: Facilitates Google Ads, generating billions in revenue.
b3. Competitors can’t replicate the scale or complexity of its search engine capabilities.

iii. Tesla – Battery Technology
a. X-Factor: Superior battery technology enabling longer range, faster charging, and higher performance in electric vehicles.
b. Why it’s an X-Factor:
b1. Dominates an industry chokepoint: Battery efficiency and cost are critical for EV success.
b2. Supports Tesla’s business model: Powers its differentiation as a leader in sustainable transportation.
b3. Hard for competitors to replicate due to proprietary research and manufacturing capabilities.

iv. Apple – Ecosystem Integration
a. X-Factor: Seamlessly integrated ecosystem of hardware, software, and services (e.g., iPhone, macOS, iCloud).
b. Why it’s an X-Factor:
b1. Acts as an industry chokepoint: Locks customers into a system where switching is costly and inconvenient.
b2. Strengthens Apple’s business model: Encourages customers to buy multiple products and services, boosting lifetime value.
b3. Creates a differentiated, high-value experience competitors struggle to match.

v. Southwest Airlines – Operational Efficiency
a. X-Factor: Single fleet model (all Boeing 737s) and a point-to-point route structure that minimizes costs and maximizes efficiency.
b. Why it’s an X-Factor:
b1. Eliminates an industry chokepoint: High operational complexity common in airline businesses.
b2. Drives its business model: Delivers low-cost flights while maintaining profitability.
b3. Creates a consistent advantage that’s hard to replicate at scale.

vi. Netflix – Content Recommendation Algorithm
a. X-Factor: Proprietary algorithms that personalise content recommendations for each viewer.
b. Why it’s an X-Factor:
b1. Solves an industry chokepoint: Helping viewers discover relevant content from vast libraries.
b2. Drives its business model: Enhances user engagement and retention, key metrics for subscription-based services.
b3. Unique data and AI capabilities are difficult for competitors to replicate.

vii. IKEA – Flat-Pack Furniture Design
a. X-Factor: Patented flat-pack design that reduces shipping and storage costs.
b. Why it’s an X-Factor:
b1. Controls an industry chokepoint: Cost-efficiency in furniture production and logistics.
b2. Fits IKEA’s business model: Affordable, stylish furniture that customers assemble themselves.
b3. Scale and cost advantages make it hard for competitors to compete at similar price points.

viii. Spotify – Music Streaming Data
a. X-Factor: Massive data collection and analysis capabilities that allow Spotify to personalise playlists and understand music trends.
b. Why it’s an X-Factor:
b1. Leverages an industry chokepoint: Access to listener preferences and habits.
b2. Drives its business model: Delivers a unique user experience that differentiates Spotify from competitors.
b3. The proprietary algorithms and scale of data collection are difficult to replicate.

These companies demonstrate how an X-Factor can:
i. Dominate an industry chokepoint, gaining control over a critical part of the value chain.
ii. Strengthen the business model by creating extraordinary value for customers.
iii. Be scalable and difficult for competitors to replicate, ensuring long-term competitive advantage.

By identifying and developing an X-Factor, companies position themselves to lead and transform their industries.

For RYD:
Chokepoints in our Industry:
i. Traditional coaching approaches work in siloes, addressing different areas of wheel of life in isolation, ignoring the integration needed for true transformation.
ii. Conventional coaching misses that transformation requires an integration of nurturing, coaching and leadership (walking the talk, doing more than what we tell others to do)
iii. Therapy is directionless without coaching, and coaching is ineffective without therapy as therapy is about healing the past and coaching is about creating the future. Without healing the past, the past will show up in the future blocking creation of a powerful new future.
iv. The biological need for the human species for ongoing evolution, growth and transformation from good to great across all bodies - physical, energy, emotional, mental and spiritual - is not addressed in an integrated manner.
v. Traditional coaching misses that Love heals and transforms, and that the experience of Love is necessary for human beings to realize their highest potential. 

Developing a proprietary methodology of coaching based on integration of different modalities and building a Centre for Coaching Excellence™ as a school for RYD Coaches to train, develop and coach them in our proprietary methodology of coaching addresses the constraints of our industry.

The above is more a post-facto understanding. The Differentiating Activities and X-Factor were arrived at not because we were searching for Differentiating Activities and X-Factor. That is the Mind at Work.

Heart and Soul were engaged to find a solution that would most contribute to our coachees by keeping our coachee at the centre of our Universe and continuously asking the question from Being of Service Consciousness - What will make the biggest difference to our coachee?

My invitation is to engage your Heart, Mind and Soul to build your business from Being of Service Consciousness using the Business Excellence frameworks as reference to travel faster on your journey to lead yourself and your business from good to great.

Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas and Business Model Canvas are good frameworks to identify your X-Factor. 

Our X-Factor:
i. The Nurturing Experience: Heart and Soul Connect along with the Mind Connect.
ii. Therapeutic Coaching: from Healing (clearing the past) to powerfully Creating the Future
iii. Have It All
iv. 1 Trusted Coach providing integration across all dimensions of growth to support our coachees to realize their highest potential with greater ease, grace and velocity
Gear 1 Wellbeing Coaching for Personal Mastery
Gear 2 Healing and Therapy, Relationship Coaching, Parenting Coaching for Relationship Mastery
Gear 3 Business Coaching for Business Mastery
Gear 4 Leadership Coaching for Leadership Mastery
Gear 5 Life Coaching for Life Mastery
v. 3 Growth Levers – Leadership Depth, Craft Mastery, Business Excellence - to support our coachees to joyously lead themselves and their businesses from good to great, realize their dreams and have it all with ease and grace; experiencing beauty, balance and harmony within and all around; while having lots of fun and adventure all along
vi. Integrating Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Raj Yoga, Gyan Yoga to support the evolutionary process of our species to be Infinite Love, Infinite Joy, Infinite Loving Kindness, Infinite Equanimity, Infinite Abundance – Gear 5 Consciousness
vii. Integration of nurturing, coaching and leading (walking the talk, doing more than what we tell our coachees) to nourish and nurture the seed of undeniable genius in each one of our coachees to fully blossom for them to realize their highest potential

Use the above article to understand how to build a strategy and build yours in the template given  to joyously lead yourself and your business from good to great making a massive difference living your Purpose through your Business, realize your dreams and have it all with ease and grace; while having lots of fun and adventure along the way 💜

Loving you,
​j.

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