Strategy - Competitive Differentiation

One of the most crucial components of business strategy certainly has to be competitive positioning directed toward differentiation in the marketplace.

I've been thinking a lot about strategy, and how we at Play differentiate ourselves as an organization and brand - and, importantly, how we want to differentiate ourselves moving forward.

Several questions come to mind, and I think they will help inform the conversation and discussion. I've outlined a few below to provoke and spark our thinking - to get us really thinking deeply - because we all play crucial roles, individually and as a collective, in who we are and want to be.

Let's be exploring these questions and have a rich conversation around them.

As you look over the questions below, specifically ask yourself - "How do I, as a teammate, contribute to our competitive differentiation?" "How do I work collaboratively with the team to advance our differentiation as a brand and organization?" and "What do I see/want our differentiation to be over the next three years?"

Ponder, reflect, capture, share, provoke, support, inspire, contribute, post, blog it!....

What differentiates us? Is it the experience? Is the results we deliver? Is it both? Are they mutually exclusive? What else is it?

If results, what are they - inspiration? energy? ideas (actionable ideas?) different thinking? new skills? answers to problems?

What/how do we want to be differentiated?

How are not differentiating ourselves? (Does it matter? If so, why?)

Why do organizations pay money and devote scarce resources to us? What do they trade-off to do so?

Why do they "re-hire" us?

Why do clients and partners refer us?

Are these the answers we want to have in 3-5 years? If not, then what should they be and how do we create and lead to make happen?

What are we not asking that we should be asking?