SCALING YOUR BUSINESS
THE 7 STRATA OF STRATEGY
THE FRAMEWORK FOR DOMINATING YOUR INDUSTRY
VERNE HARNISH AND THE TEAM AT GAZELLES
1
2 3
4
5 6
7
Words You Own ( Mindshare )
Sandbox And Brand Promises
Brand Promise Guarantee ( Catalytic Mechanism )
One-PHRASE Strategy ( Key To Making Money )
Differentiating Activities ( 3 – 5 Hows )
X-Factor ( 10x – 100x Underlying Advantage )
Profit per X ( Economic Engine ) And BHAG ® ( 10- To 25-Year Goal )
The 7 Strata is a comprehensive framework for creating a robust strategy that differentiates your company from the competition and helps you establish the kind of roadblocks that allow you to dominate your niche in the marketplace . Entire books have been written about the Strata , and when an appropriate one exists , we refer to it . We strongly suggest dividing up the workload and having each executive team member read one of the recommended books or articles and then brief the rest of the executives .
NOTE : If this work were easy , every company would have a killer strategy . The process can be very uncomfortable for CEOs , who might feel like they should already have all the answers . After all , it ’ s the CEO ’ s primary job to set and drive the strategy of the business . At the same time , it ’ s a very messy and creative process requiring lots of learning and talk time with a myriad of customers , advisors , and team members . This can be particularly difficult for engineering types who want to follow a sequential process to finding the right answers . It just doesn ’ t happen that way .
Of all the methods we teach , this is the one where you must truly “ trust the process .” Persevere , keep searching , and the magic will occur .
THE 7 STRATA
1
WORDS YOU OWN ( MINDSHARE )
If you ’ re lucky , the name of your company becomes the word you own , like Facebook . Or your company name can clearly describe what you do and represent the words you want to own in the minds of the people in your market , like “ trench safety .” If you ’ re entrepreneurial , you can name a new niche and then own it by default .
In the end , that ’ s what branding is all about : owning a small piece of the mind-space within a company ’ s targeted market , whether that ’ s a local neighborhood , an industry segment , or the world . If you want to hurt a competitor , steal its word , as Google did with Yahoo , becom- ing the “ search ” engine of choice .
Since 87 % of ALL customers ( business , consumer , and government ) search the internet to find options for purchasing products and services , you need to dominate these online search engines . The key is owning words that matter — the ones people think about and use to search for your products and services . Take a moment to search the words or phrases you think you should own in the minds of your customers , and see how high your company ranks or whether your lesser competitors are outranking you .
If you focus on only one of the 7 Strata , this first one is the most important in driving revenue . The rest help you defend your niche , simplify execution , and turn your revenue into huge profit .
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