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Strengths

n What are our key strengths? (List them all. Write them down.
Disregard your competition that may or may not share similar
strengths. Discipline yourself and your colleagues to only look
inwards. This is no-navel gazing, it is an approach that ensures
that you identify all that you have going for you even if you need to
use considerable creativity when it comes to making it work for
you. At this stage your purpose is to clearly establish ALL that you
have going for you. Nothing is too trivial to be included unless its
inclusion trivializes the whole activity – see the Case Study on page
11 for an example.)

n Why do our present customers choose to do business with us?
n What specifically do they say about us?
n To whom do they say it?
n If they say good things about us, how can we get them to talk more

widely about our products and services? (A repeated warning from
the psychologist in me. Never pay for anything that people are
prepared to do freely to demonstrate their regard for you. Payment
devalues the generous action and turns it into something that
becomes conditional on payment. In Howard Shenson’s words, “to
pay me is to insult me. If you choose to insult me, you’d better
insult me thoroughly, regularly and more and more expensively”.)
n What skills, knowledge, competencies, attitudes, values or
behaviours cause customers to want to come to us first and stay
with us?
n What current strengths could we apply to take more profit out of
today’s markets?
– What potential are we missing?
– How much is the total market worth?
– What is our market share?
– How much more could we realistically take?
– From whom can we take it?
– What would it cost us to do it?
– How much more money could we be making?
– How will we use that additional profit to pursue our ideal

future?
n What strengths do we need to build or acquire to be most effective

in the key markets of the future?
– What will be the key markets of the future?

6 Key management questions