The hottest Strategy Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Inside Superhuman's Pricing Evolution

Good Better Best • 5 implied HN points • 10 Jan 25
💼 Business SaaS Pricing Growth Strategy Customer success
  1. Superhuman started with a single $30/month price to differentiate itself in a crowded email market. This pricing strategy boosted user activation since customers felt the need to get their money's worth.
  2. Their pricing evolved from a simple model to three tiered options, tailored to different user needs. This change aimed for simplicity while capturing diverse customer groups effectively.
  3. To smoothly transition customers to new pricing, Superhuman focused on research, planning, and transparency. They allowed a grace period for existing customers to adjust, which helped them maintain customer trust.

Humility in leadership

Sunday Letters • 99 implied HN points • 24 Apr 22
💼 Business Leadership Organizational Teamwork Management Strategy
  1. Leadership should be about helping others, not just about personal achievement. Think about how you can support your team instead of just focusing on being at the top.
  2. An inverted org chart can help visualize leadership as a service. Instead of one person at the top, imagine the leader at the bottom, supporting the team that does the work.
  3. Making decisions in leadership requires humility. It's important to delegate and build trust, as this creates a more effective and supportive team environment.

Why companies (like Nike or Starbucks) make good or bad decisions

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 31 Oct 23
💼 Business Strategy Management Decision-making Corporate culture Organizational Behavior
  1. Words like strategy and culture are losing their meaning in companies, making it hard to make clear decisions.
  2. Starbucks' mission statement is seen as too vague and fluffy, which can lead to confusion about their goals.
  3. Nike focuses on marathon world records because it emphasizes performance and achievement, aligning with their brand values.

📈 📊 How to Develop and Write KPIs: A Guide for Product Managers 📋

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 3 implied HN points • 27 Oct 24
💼 Business Management Strategy Finance Marketing Operations Leadership
  1. KPIs are important tools that help product managers measure how well their product is performing. They show how close you are to reaching your business goals.
  2. To create effective KPIs, start with your business objectives and define specific, measurable metrics that relate directly to those goals.
  3. Regularly monitor your KPIs and be prepared to adjust them as necessary. This helps you stay on track and make informed decisions about improvements.

"Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast"

The Radar • 19 implied HN points • 10 Oct 23
💼 Business Organizational Culture Leadership Innovation Strategy Values
  1. Organizational culture is more than just values or behaviors; it's the prevailing attitudes, routine behaviors, and shared norms of an organization.
  2. To change a culture, leaders need to champion stated values persistently until they become ingrained in behaviors and routines.
  3. Creating a culture shift takes time and commitment; leaders can't simply dictate a new culture, it requires sustained effort to embed new values and behaviors.
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Brief note on innovation, distribution, and moats

Logos • 19 implied HN points • 09 Oct 23
💼 Business Economics Innovation Marketing Entrepreneurship Strategy
  1. Strong distribution is more important than complex technology. It's hard to get your product in front of people, even if you have a great product.
  2. Startups often succeed not because of better tech, but by disrupting market rules. They reach new customers by using different methods that big companies might overlook.
  3. While tech complexity can show growth potential, it doesn't guarantee a competitive edge. Companies need to innovate to keep up, but that innovation doesn't have to be super complicated.

Strategy Is About Confident Decision-Making

The Strategy Deck • 19 implied HN points • 14 Apr 23
💼 Business Strategy Investment Analysis Stakeholders Planning
  1. Strategy in business involves making confident decisions for success and profitability.
  2. Three fundamental elements of strategy are investment decisions, analysis and prioritization, and stakeholder involvement.
  3. Types of strategy work include business strategy, product strategy, and strategic planning, each with specific focuses and benefits.

Why no academic discipline studies strategy

Strategy Notes • 19 implied HN points • 14 Mar 23
🚌 Education Strategy
  1. Many academic disciplines study various subjects but not specifically strategy.
  2. Studying past cases in strategy is beneficial, but it is not the same as actively studying and practicing strategy.
  3. The focused study of success in strategy has been divided into too many fields, impacting the overall understanding and approach to strategy.

Strategy for Startups

Ways of Working • 19 implied HN points • 08 May 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Strategy Startups Leadership Management
  1. Strategy is the plan for an organization to achieve its vision.
  2. Startups go wrong by mistaking mission, vision, and goals for strategy, not eliminating options, and inducing strategy whiplash.
  3. Creating a strategy requires identifying the starting point, assessing company stage & purpose, gathering inputs, soliciting feedback, going on a PR tour, and executing & iterating.

Debunking the Myth of Network Effects

Platform Papers • 19 implied HN points • 13 Sep 23
💼 Business Technology Competition Monopoly Antitrust Strategy
  1. Network effects can be powerful in digital platforms but may not always lead to the expected outcomes. A merger between pet-sitting platforms revealed that horizontal preferences and platform differentiation can play a significant role in user behavior.
  2. The strength of network effects can be challenging to quantify due to external factors influencing participant value. Understanding factors like switching costs and repeat exchanges is crucial in assessing the true impact of network effects.
  3. Having multiple competing platforms can be more beneficial than having a single dominant one. This diversity can foster healthy competition, innovation, and prevent monopolistic practices, highlighting the importance of antitrust regulations.

Season 05 - Newsletter 02 --> When Your Boss Wants Strategy but You're Stuck in the Weeds: A Product Leader's Dilemma

Product Hustle Stack Newsletter • 4 implied HN points • 28 Jan 25
💼 Business Management Strategy Leadership Product Development Communication
  1. It's common for product leaders to feel stuck in daily tasks while their bosses want more strategic thinking. Balancing the two is crucial for success.
  2. To improve strategic vision, start by imagining where you want your product to be in three years and then work backwards. This helps paint a clear picture for everyone involved.
  3. Communication is key. Create something like an 'impact dashboard' to show how your day-to-day work connects to the bigger goals your boss cares about.

Navigating the First 90 Days Without (Too Many) Hiccups

Pragmatism • 64 implied HN points • 07 Mar 23
💼 Business Management Product Strategy Leadership Career
  1. In the first 30 days, focus on building relationships and understanding the company dynamics.
  2. From 30 to 60 days, dive into working with product and engineering counterparts, prioritize quick wins, and showcase thought leadership.
  3. Within 60 to 90 days, become a key stakeholder in planning, ship your first feature, refine the product roadmap, and take ownership of your product suite.

Personality-led business building, positioning and pivots.

The Ask Newsletter — by Ellen Donnelly • 7 implied HN points • 20 Nov 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Strategy Coaching Career development
  1. It's important to align your business with what you love doing. When you focus on what excites you, your work feels more meaningful.
  2. Making a significant change in your business takes time and careful planning. It's about building a strong foundation before jumping into something new.
  3. Understanding your strengths helps you create a business that fits you. Find what you enjoy and build around that to avoid burnout.

#37 The definitive guide to SaaS funnels

Organic SaaS Growth • 1 implied HN point • 12 Dec 24
💼 Business Marketing Sales SaaS Growth Strategy
  1. SaaS funnels are key to making a business successful. They help you understand your customers and improve sales.
  2. A clear funnel can lead to steady growth and better marketing decisions. Without one, it’s tough to know where to focus your efforts.
  3. You can get help creating or improving your funnels. Having an expert audit your current system might boost your performance.

Does social media marketing still matter? Not like you think.

{grow} by Mark Schaefer • 39 implied HN points • 08 Mar 23
💼 Business Marketing Strategy Branding Community Social media
  1. Social media marketing is not just about promotion, but about creating emotional connections and customer advocacy.
  2. Social media plays a crucial role in brand marketing by creating emotional meaning and loyalty.
  3. A successful social media strategy should focus on building an audience and ultimately a community for organic advocacy.

Principles and discomfort

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 31 Jul 22
💼 Business Management Culture Strategy Decision-making Team Dynamics
  1. Companies should write down their principles, but they need to focus on real-life situations. It's important to consider what happens during conflicts or tight deadlines.
  2. It's good to prioritize principles so everyone knows what matters most. Listing trade-offs can help teams make better decisions when things get tough.
  3. Successful teams must design principles that reflect real choices and constraints. This way, they can handle stress better and understand what they truly value.

Decisions Before the Decision

DruGroup • 79 implied HN points • 23 Mar 22
💼 Business Leadership Decision-making Management Strategy Organizational Behavior
  1. Before making a big decision, ask yourself five key questions: When do you need to decide, who should be involved, what are your options, where might your choices lead, and how will you respond to outcomes.
  2. Getting the right people in the room can help improve decision-making. Their different perspectives can highlight mistakes and open up better choices.
  3. Thinking through the potential results and responses to your decision can ensure you’re prepared for whatever happens next. It helps make the final choice clearer and gives you more confidence.

On attack, defence and the beautiful game

The Jolly Contrarian • 19 implied HN points • 01 May 23
🎾 Sports Strategy Analysis Risk management Games Complexity
  1. Different values are placed on attack and defence in sports like football based on the asymmetry of payoffs between the two roles.
  2. Defenders focus on conservative, coordinated actions to maintain the status quo, while attackers take big risks to improve the position.
  3. Infinite games, characterized by complex systems and unpredictable outcomes, require the ability to adjust, react, adapt, and capitalize on opportunities in a changing environment.

5 reasons why you shouldn’t grow your business

Tiny Empires • 49 implied HN points • 12 Jul 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Small business Marketing Automation Strategy
  1. The purpose of a business is to make money consistently, not just to focus on growth.
  2. Avoid the constant stress and demands of big business by aiming for a solid income and free time with a Tiny Empire approach.
  3. To build a successful business, find a model that suits you, test your idea before investing fully, and optimize your processes for efficiency.

Your Way

Venture Prose • 199 implied HN points • 14 Jan 20
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Investing Strategy Startups Management
  1. Successful companies often build on the strongest aspects of their industry and work backwards. This approach can lead to innovative solutions that address user needs in unique ways.
  2. When evaluating a team for investment, consider their vision (people), timing (time to market), and long-term commitment (built to last). These factors are crucial for sustainable success.
  3. Companies can excel by focusing on building innovative products, strong infrastructure, and effective distribution strategies. It's essential to adapt and evolve these elements while keeping clarity of vision.

The edge in trading IPOs: 18% annual return

Quant Trading Rules • 2 HN points • 08 Jun 24
💰 Finance Trading Investing IPOs Strategy
  1. Marsten Parker's IPO trading strategy focuses on frequently buying and selling IPOs shortly after they go public, with clear rules for entry and exit.
  2. Buying IPOs at all-time highs showed a significant edge over buying non-IPO stocks at all-time highs, with IPOs performing better after 20 days.
  3. Tweaking profit targets and stop-loss orders in IPO trading strategies can significantly impact annual returns, demonstrating the importance of optimizing these parameters for better performance.

The uncertainty mindset

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 219 implied HN points • 14 Oct 19
💼 Business Management Strategy Leadership Finance Innovation
  1. Risk and uncertainty are not the same. We often confuse the two, but dealing with true uncertainty needs a different approach than just managing risks.
  2. Businesses need to adapt to unexpected changes. Having a flexible mindset can help companies navigate uncertain situations more effectively.
  3. Understanding uncertainty can improve personal and professional growth. Embracing uncertainty helps with better decision-making and can lead to new discoveries.

Goal versus Process

Sunday Letters • 39 implied HN points • 02 Oct 22
💼 Business Management Strategy Product Design Development User Experience
  1. Focusing on goals helps teams and users create better outcomes. It's important to understand what problem we're solving instead of just following a strict process.
  2. Being adaptable is key. Just like driving, we can make adjustments along the way, which leads to a more effective journey toward our goals.
  3. Users care more about reaching their goals quickly than about the steps involved. Designing with their goals in mind makes them happier and more productive.

Guide #8: Best practices for choosing your marketing channels

Tiny Empires • 36 implied HN points • 16 Aug 23
💼 Business Marketing Entrepreneurship Sales Strategy Customer Acquisition
  1. Focus on marketing channels that give you the best return on investment for your time as a solo-founder.
  2. Be very targeted in your marketing efforts and ask yourself how much it costs to acquire a customer for each channel.
  3. Choose 2-3 marketing channels to focus on, consider direct sales outreach, and think creatively about where your ideal customers are.

TWH#48: OKRs Are Not OK

The Hagakure • 53 implied HN points • 02 Mar 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Strategy Startups Organizational Behavior
  1. OKRs are commonly used in startups but often fail to work effectively due to misuse and lack of context.
  2. Senior leaders typically use OKRs for control and predictability, focusing on execution rather than learning and exploration.
  3. The VC-backed startup model emphasizes predictability and control over complex systems, which can hinder innovation and adaptive learning.

Between human and non-human

The Strategy Toolkit • 43 implied HN points • 21 Apr 23
📖 Philosophy Strategy Philosophy Consciousness Ethics Happiness
  1. The post discusses the relationship between human and non-human entities in the context of philosophy and strategy.
  2. Individuals running companies and organizations are influenced by philosophy, guiding decision-making and strategy.
  3. Philosophical concepts such as consciousness, free will, morality, and value play a crucial role in strategy and decision-making.

Companies Build "Capabilities" Before They Build "Moats"

Equal Ventures • 19 implied HN points • 23 Oct 22
💼 Business Strategy Competitive advantage Organizational Design
  1. Companies need to focus on building 'capabilities' before establishing 'moats' for sustainable long-term value.
  2. Capabilities, like network effects and organizational design, are intangible assets driving competitive advantage.
  3. Understanding and actively working on developing specific capabilities is essential for building a strong competitive strategy.

#1: Varieties of the unknown

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 179 implied HN points • 06 Nov 19
💼 Business Finance Risk management Decision-making Economics Strategy
  1. There are different types of unknown situations we can face. It's important to recognize these differences because they affect how we make decisions.
  2. A common mistake is treating real uncertainty like risk, thinking we can predict outcomes when we really can't. Understanding this can help us better navigate complex situations.
  3. We need to find new ways to plan and react when faced with unknown outcomes, since these scenarios are becoming more common. Simply applying a risk mindset isn't enough.

What Africa-focused startups can learn about positioning from Flutterwave and Listerine

Afridigest • 19 implied HN points • 03 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups Marketing Positioning Advertising Strategy
  1. Positioning is a powerful tool in changing how the world perceives a product or market.
  2. Listerine's success story showcases the impact of repositioning a product to target a specific customer problem.
  3. Vision, strategy, and positioning are interconnected elements crucial for a company's success.

Building a Lasting Organizational Influence (Feat. Wayne Schmidt)

DruGroup • 79 implied HN points • 20 Jul 21
💼 Business Leadership Organizational Behavior Influence Strategy
  1. Organizations can have a lasting impact if they're built and managed well. Unlike ideas or people, organizations are resilient and can grow even when individual members come and go.
  2. Great leaders ensure continuity by preparing their organization for the future. This means recognizing and nurturing the leaders behind them and creating structures that last beyond their own involvement.
  3. It's important for leaders to balance their presence and absence strategically. Sometimes being there gives support, but not showing up can allow others to take the lead, which benefits the organization.

Salary of a Early-Stage Startup CEO

Tech Ramblings • 19 implied HN points • 23 Apr 23
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Finance Management Strategy
  1. When starting a business, pay yourself just enough to live on. This way, you can focus on building the company without financial stress.
  2. Try to keep your living costs low before launching. This can help you manage funds better and prepare for the long journey ahead.
  3. As a startup CEO, it's important not to pay yourself too much. This helps keep resources for growth and shows you value your team's contributions.

Input Metrics for SEO

The SEO MBA • 32 implied HN points • 31 Mar 23
💼 Business SEO Metrics Investment Reporting Strategy
  1. SEO success depends on more than just the SEO team - it's a cross-functional effort.
  2. Use input metrics, not just output metrics, to drive buy-in for SEO programs.
  3. Choosing measurable input metrics and evolving them over time helps predict success and guide actions for SEO programs.