As we near the end of the semester, I’m proud of my students and how much we’ve learned. It’s a learning journey full of questions, curiosity, discussion and debate. A safe place to learn.

These are 175+ questions that Emory BBA would feel comfortable answering about strategy. Perhaps more importantly, they could explain it simply and answer the follow-up question, “so what?”

Creating and capturing value, Honda

• What’s the difference between willingness-to-pay and price? Why does this matter?
• What is Henry Mintzberg (Managers not MBA author) and what’s his point of view?
• What’s the difference between a learning curve and experience curve? So what?
• What are two competing interpretations of Honda’s early success in the US?
• What are the two ways of increasing profitability?
• If you have lots of fixed costs, what’s the key to increasing profits in the short-term?

Economics and strategy?

• What’s the difference between a shift in demand and quantity demanded at a price X?
• How influences willingness-to-pay (WTP)?  Why do marketers care?
• Can you explain “price elasticity of demand” to your cousin?
• What’s the difference between fixed and marginal costs?  Why does that matter?
• Which company brought the mobile internet to 300+ million people in the last 5 years?
• Why would an expensive restaurant stay open even though it’s only 1/3 full?
• Why do marginal costs typically spike up dramatically with more production? So what?
• Why might an oil company drill oil at $60/barrel, even though average total cost is $70?
• Can you give me an example of price elasticity of supply, during the Covid-19 crisis?
• In the short-run, higher demand usually comes in _________, not greater supply.
• What are some of the (theoretical) conditions for a perfect market? Why does that matter?

Industry structure

• Does profitability vary much by industry? Why, why not?
• What does this phrase mean” “A strategist’s job is to cope with competition?”
• When we think about competition, who’s included?  Just rivals?
• What is the Porter’s 5 forces framework useful for?
• What are 3-4 limitations of this famous framework?
• What are 5-6 elements that would discourage new entrants from entering an industry?
• What does Warren Buffet mean when he says: “economic moat?”
• What are the circumstances where your supplier would have lots of bargaining power?
• How can buyers threaten your potential profitability?
• According to Porter, what are 3 generic strategic positions?
• Why are substitutes so difficult to anticipate? Why does this matter?
• Why isn’t government or technology considered one of the “5 forces?”
•  Can more than one company be successful within the same industry?  How?

Financial ratios

• Aren’t there hundreds of financial ratios? How to mentally organize them?
• What are potential pitfalls when comparing ratios of different companies?
• What is return on equity (ROE) and why does it matter?
• Is a high ROE always a good thing? Why not?
• Why does the DuPont Method rock?
• What’s the difference between liquidity and solvency ratios?
• How are financial ratios like vital signs for a company?
• What’s the difference between lagging and leading indicators?
• How could unscrupulous managers “fiddle with” earnings?
• What financial and operational ratios might you look at for the airline industry?
• Two shoe companies have the same net margin, but company A has COGS of 60% and B has COGS of 30%; what does that say about their products, marketing, and strategy?

What is strategy?

• Why is operational efficiency different from strategy?
• Why do so many executives, and consultants love “best practices?”
• What’s the limitation with “best practices?” So what?
• How would you explain “strategy” to your cousin?
• What is the productivity frontier? What is the main point?
• How would you describe the airline industry structure in the 1970s?
• Why was Southwest virtuous cycle (set of activities)?
• What happened with other airlines (straddlers) tried to copy Southwest?
• Tell me a little about Herb Kelleher (founder of Southwest). . . amazing.
• Why was SuperCell (gaming company) successful?
• Can you explain the 3 generic strategic positions? (variety, needs, access-based)?
• Why do companies fail to choose / stick with a strategy?  Why is strategy difficult?

Beverages industry, Coca Cola

• How are Coca Cola and Pepsi different?
• How does this duopoly not kill each other?
• What is the relationship between Coca Cola and their bottlers?
• Where are the profits in the non-alcoholic beverage value chain?
• What are the major trends in non-alcoholic beverages today?
• What new category is Coca Cola entering? So what?
• What do you think about Coca Cola’s acquisition of Costa coffee? why?

Game theory, General Motors

• How does the analogy of games apply to business?
• What is the prisoner’s dilemma? So what?
• How would you describe the Nash Equilibrium?
• What is a dominant strategy? why does that matter?
• What does it mean to understand your rival’s economics?
• What are some limitations of (or assumptions underlying) game theory?
• What are some ways to improve your “competitive readiness?”
• If you were a banker advising on a competitive bid, what are some questions you would have?
• What are 5 ways to gather competitive / market intelligence?

Resource Based View (RBV)

• What are the 5 characteristics of a “strategically valuable resource?”
• What is the implication of RBV to strategists?
• What are some potential criticisms of the RBV approach?
• What strategic analysis might pair well with RBV?
• What are the strategically valuable resources of Amazon, Walmart, Uber?

Blue Ocean Strategy, Warby Parker

• What is blue ocean strategy? Why does that matter?
• What are the pre-requisites for blue ocean strategy?
• Can incumbents create blue oceans? How?
• Does a blue ocean require technology? So what?
• What criticisms do you have of this methodology?
• Tell me about Warby Parker and their founding story.
• How would you describe Luxottica market position in eyewear?
• Why do you think a “Warby Parker-like” start up did not appear sooner?
• What are some “strategic moves” that Warby Parker used to create a blue ocean?

Vertical integration vs. virtual integration, Dell

• How would you describe vertical integration to your cousin?
• When does it make sense to pursue vertical integration?
• What are the (many) pitfalls of vertical integration? So what?
• In the US, the Dept. of Justice is more wary of horizonal integration, why?
• What were the benefits of Dell’s make-to-order supply chain?
• Why might Amazon cut ties with FedEx?

Big lie of strategic planning, Amazon

• According to Roger Martin (ex-Dean of Rotman), why is strategy a scary thing?
• What is wrong with the typical approach to strategic planning?
• What are the “comfort traps” in strategic planning? How to avoid them?
• What does Bain & Company mean by “strategy as a portfolio of options, not bonds.”
• Does Amazon have a strategy? How would you describe it?
• What does Jeff Bezos mean by “wandering in business is not efficient. . but it’s not random”?
• What does “Day 1” mean to Amazon?
• What is “commander’s intent” and how does it relate to strategy?

Evolution of strategy, Intel

• What is Moore’s law and why does it matter?
• What were Intel’s 2 major strategic inflection points?
• What was Grove’s leadership style? So what?
• What is Intel’s recipe for profits? (will-to-pay, price, cost?)
• Did Intel make any missteps in the past (or currently)?
• How is the semiconductor industry changing?
• Who is TSMC and why does that matter to Intel?

Innovation

• Difference between sustaining and disruptive innovation?
• What are the misconceptions of disruptive innovation?
• Is Uber disruptive innovation? How?
• Why is disruptive innovation difficult for incumbents?
• What are some criticisms of disruptive innovation?
• How would you explain the technology adoption lifecycle to your cousin?
• What is one approach to “cross the chasm” according to Geoffrey Moore?
• How does innovation differ from the early, mature, late stages of the industry lifecycle?

Founder’s Mentality, Narayana Health

• What is Founder’s Mentality (Bain & Co)?
• What are 3 reasons that scrappy start-ups lose their “founder’s mentality?”
• Who is Dr. Shetty and what is Narayana Heart Hospital?
• How would you describe their clinical operations and processes?
• What are the trade-offs they are making?
• Is Narayana a business or philanthropy?
• How easy is it to copy this business model elsewhere? Go global, why?

Corporate Strategy, General Electric

• What is corporate strategy? How is that different from competitive strategy?
• How does diversification potentially destroy value?
• What are the 3 tests of diversification?
• How can managers “unlock” value from M&A?
• Why do so many mergers & acquisitions fail to add value?
• What is the core competency of Southwest, Coca Cola?
• Can M&A be a core competency (read: BCG report)?

Organizational Design, P&G

• Why does organizational structure even matter?
• Why did P&G organize the US and Europe differently in the 1950s?
• In 1980s, P&G introduced category management, Why?
• Should an organization have some “constructive tension?” Why?
• What is P&G’s SuperBrand strategy? So what?
• Who is Nelson Peltz (activist investor) and his argument against P&G?
• What does A.G. Lafley think of most CEOs’ strategy?
• What is your view on A.G. Lafley’s “winning” perspective?
• What is a decision-driven organization? (MBA jargon?)

Digital Transformation, Goldman Sachs

• How would you describe Goldman Sachs 150 year history?
• Why did the firm’s revenue and income drop in 10 years?
• What did Lloyd Blankfein do to manage this decline?
• Is it a good idea to open Marquee / SIMON to competitors?
• Who is Marty Chavez? Why does that matter?
• How does Chavez distinguish between traders and coders?
• What do you think of Goldman Sach’s entry into consumer loans and credit cards?

Google

• What does Google’s financials tell you?
• What’s the difference between AdWords and AdSense?
• How does a Vickery auction work? Why does it matter?
• What business is Google in? Who do they compete against?
• What is Google’s core competency (resource + capabilities)?
• How does Google encourage innovation?
• What is Google’s corporate strategy?
• What are the greatest challenges facing Google?

Network effects

• What are network effects?
• How is it different from virality?
• Why do you want a business with network effects?
• Are all networks similar? (Facebook vs. Twitter)?
• To what extent do you think food delivery apps have network effects?
• What is Roblox? How would you describe their network effects?

Subscription services

• What is driving the recent increase in subscription services?
• What are the benefits to companies?
• What are the benefits to customers?
• Is a subscription-based business a strategy? Why not?
• What are some key metrics to track with subscription-based business models?
• Why are subscriptions particularly important/effective with B2B purchases?

Digital payments

• What are the different kinds of digital payments and why are they growing?
• What is accelerating the adoption of digital payments in China?
• What is hindering US adoption of Alipay/TenPay/PayTM type digital payments?
• What is the likelihood, ability of US incumbent financial institutions to catch up?
• Are you bullish or bearish on Venmo, why?
• Why is Chase having so much difficulty with Chase Pay?
• If you gave Visa, MC strategy advice, what would it be?

Strategy team, what questions did I miss?