The hottest Strategy Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

How To Run Great Board Meetings

Venture Prose • 19 implied HN points • 28 Jan 17
💼 Business Management Meetings Startups Entrepreneurship Strategy
  1. It's crucial for board meetings to have relevant, accurate, and well-mastered information and data to facilitate effective discussions and decision-making.
  2. Board meetings should not just be casual check-ins, but rather off-site retreats emphasizing past, present, and future strategic matters and decisions.
  3. Founders should send board packs in advance, encourage preliminary quality work from all attendees, and set a pattern of understanding to ensure productive and efficient board meetings.

The End of Cabinet War

Big Serge Thought • 1 HN point • 01 Dec 23
💾 History Military Strategy Warfare Nationalism Conflict
  1. The Prussian military establishment in the 19th century won many battles, establishing military supremacy, but the approach led to hubris and challenges in the 20th century wars.
  2. Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke's success in the Franco-Prussian War encapsulated the ideal warfare of encirclement but also highlighted the shift from limited Cabinet Wars to total People's Wars.
  3. The debate between Moltke and Bismarck on limited versus total war strategies in the 1870s mirrors modern conflicts, like Russia's actions in Ukraine, showcasing the consequences of strategic decisions on long-term outcomes.
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A Startup's Guide to Direct Sales and Channel Sales

1517 Fund • 0 implied HN points • 18 Jul 23
💼 Business Sales Startups Marketing Entrepreneurship Strategy
  1. Direct sales involve selling to end customers without intermediaries, providing control over the sales process and customer relationships.
  2. Channel sales involve partnering with intermediaries for expanded market reach and cost-effective scalability, but it may lead to margin compression.
  3. Startups should carefully evaluate their unique needs and resources to choose between direct and channel sales, or consider hybrid approaches for a balance.

Is Gen AI Bad For Sales?

Fully Distributed by Ori Eldarov • 0 implied HN points • 27 Sep 23
💼 Business AI Sales Technology Future Strategy
  1. Gen AI may be making outbound sales more challenging by flooding prospects with personalized cold emails, causing response rates to drop.
  2. The future of sales will likely involve augmented intelligence, shifting the sales landscape towards AI-to-human and potentially AI-to-AI interactions.
  3. Salespeople need to adapt to evolving AI capabilities to stay competitive in the industry.

Did Netflix Just Make Their Best Strategic Move in the Last Five Years?

The Entertainment Strategy Guy • 0 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
💼 Business Entertainment Streaming Strategy Competition Earnings
  1. Netflix made a strategic move by acquiring WWE rights, addressing growth limitations by expanding into live content.
  2. The deal with WWE signals Netflix as a potential bidder for other sports rights, which may affect the future of sports media rights.
  3. Despite past skepticism, Netflix's strong performance in 2023 suggests the need for a rethink of their competitive position.

Taming the Annual Budget

Build To Scale • 0 implied HN points • 24 Oct 23
💼 Business Finance Management Strategy Operations Budgeting
  1. When setting an annual budget, use a top-down approach for better efficiency and success in funding key initiatives.
  2. Departments need to create their own annual plans that align with overall company goals to ensure success and mitigate risks.
  3. As the business evolves, flexibility is key in budget management, with regular check-ins to adjust spending and headcount based on actual performance.

How And When to Do Layoffs

Build To Scale • 0 implied HN points • 21 Sep 23
💼 Business Management Layoffs Efficiency Strategy Leadership
  1. If you've missed your targets significantly for two quarters and haven't adjusted costs, it's likely time to consider layoffs to prevent worsening financial situations.
  2. When doing layoffs, it's better to make deeper cuts of at least 15% rather than small reductions to significantly impact the company trajectory.
  3. Focus on top initiatives during layoffs by identifying key projects to prioritize, being clear about what will be stopped, and re-aligning the organization for critical goals.

What Does Your Brand Stand For?

Build To Scale • 0 implied HN points • 28 Aug 23
💼 Business Branding Product Management Marketing Strategy Customer Experience
  1. A brand is the promise a company makes combined with the customer experience. It's crucial to focus on delivering quality products and services that align with this promise.
  2. The success of a brand is not just about logos or taglines but about creating products customers can't live without. Constant innovation and differentiation are key.
  3. Maintaining a strong brand requires consistently delivering on the promise and continuously improving products to meet customer needs.

What Are The Patterns?

Build To Scale • 0 implied HN points • 18 Aug 23
💼 Business Startups Marketing Sales Customer Insights Strategy
  1. Identifying patterns among customers is crucial for building and scaling a startup. This skill is valuable for optimizing sales and marketing strategies.
  2. Understanding qualitative aspects of customer situations can lead to better targeting and product optimization. It's essential to focus on specific customer segments and use cases rather than aiming for broad generalizations.
  3. Talking to customers and salespeople is key to uncovering valuable patterns. Customer visits and sales insights can help identify buying trends and inform marketing strategies.

Four Laws of Brand-Building in the Digital Age (Part 2 of 4)

The Intersection • 0 implied HN points • 06 Apr 21
💼 Business Marketing Innovation Branding Digital Age Strategy
  1. In the digital age, brands are shifting focus from Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to Point of View (POV) as a more powerful marketing tool.
  2. Brands are facing challenges in protecting their USP in the digital world due to rampant copying and mimicry, highlighting the importance of having a distinct POV.
  3. The driving force for success in today's competitive landscape lies in having a strong Point of View (POV) that is unique, consistent, and resonates with consumers.

Four Laws of Brand-Building in the Digital Age (Part 1 of 4)

The Intersection • 0 implied HN points • 14 Mar 21
💼 Business Digital Leadership Marketing Brand building Strategy
  1. In the digital age, transitioning from organizational scale to functional speed is crucial for building successful brands.
  2. Establishing a brand in the 21st century requires a shift from traditional marketing methods to adapting to digital trends.
  3. The ability to adjust speed appropriately, like Google, Facebook, and Disney did, is essential for brand-building in the evolving digital era.

🤯 How much should I be investing in brand?

the case for brand 💼 • 0 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
💼 Business Marketing Strategy Research Brand building Advertising
  1. Brand marketing and growth marketing are not mutually exclusive - you need both for long-term success.
  2. The optimal split for investing in brand versus demand (activation) is typically 60% brand and 40% demand.
  3. Overinvesting in lead generation is a common mistake - balancing brand building and demand generation can lead to exceptional results.

Seed is the New Series A

Equal Ventures • 0 implied HN points • 19 Dec 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Investing Startups Funding Strategy
  1. Seed stage investing has evolved to become as prominent and important as Series A investments in recent years.
  2. Seed investors have seen success, leading to larger investments, pushing Series A rounds to later stages.
  3. The venture capital landscape is changing, with early-stage investing maturing, causing a shift in investment strategies towards earlier-stage opportunities.

New Frameworks: International Expansion, Financial Investments, Strategic Levels of Impact

The Strategy Deck • 0 implied HN points • 28 Mar 23
💼 Business Expansion Investments Strategy
  1. Expanding internationally involves more than just adapting your product - consider business objectives, target markets, operating structure, product localization, operations, and global culture.
  2. Financial investments planning is essential for implementing strategies - consider the investments required, their impact on key metrics, full cost, and spreading the cost over time.
  3. When developing a strategy, consider the level of impact it will have on your business and industry - aim for incremental changes to the business, positioning in the market, or changes in the industry structure.

How Long Does It Take To See SEO Results (And ROI)?

B2B SEO & Growth with Annika Helendi • 0 implied HN points • 20 Jun 23
💼 Business SEO Marketing ROI Strategy Content
  1. SEO is a long-term strategy that requires patience and consistent effort.
  2. On average, it takes 6 to 12 months to see real SEO results, with the full impact often revealing in year 2.
  3. ROI of SEO is best measured in the long term, providing endless organic traffic, high-quality conversions, and increased credibility over time.