In this session, Ram discussed the ever-evolving world of competitive advantage. He shared how current changes desire to rethink of competitive edge strategies. He shared some data-driven strategies and some best practices that are executable and easy to implement.
Bio:
Ram Charan is the co-author of the bestselling Execution and Confronting Reality, written with Larry Bossidy, and the author of Know-How and a dozen other books. A former award-winning Harvard Business School professor, he is a worldwide expert on business strategy, execution, corporate boards, and building a high-performance organization. He has worked with the CEOs of some of the world’s most successful companies, including GE, Bank of America, Verizon, Coca-Cola, 3M, Merck, Aditya Birla Group, and Tata Group.

Ram’s Book:
Rethinking Competitive Advantage: New Rules for the Digital Age https://amzn.to/3x5cU3w

Discussion Timeline:
0:52 Ram’s journey.
4:55 How has the world of competitive advantage changed?
9:36 Advice for legacy old corporations on gaining competitive advantage.
13:30 How can companies adapt to the new work paradigm?
19:00 Implementing change through influencers in a company.
21:06 How much of digitization is good for a company?
23:34 Competitive advantage strategy during a crisis caused by external forces.
26:19 Misconceptions about competitive strategy.
28:19 Is competitive advantage a comparative feature or a tool for self-improvement?
31:41 Art of doing business Vs science of doing business.
34:27 The right time to start a competitive advantage plan.
35:17 What apprehensions leaders have towards transformative change?
36:57 Challenges leaders face in implementing a competitive advantage.
39:30 Rethinking part in the book “Rethinking Competitive Advantage”.
41:25 Money-making model Vs business model.
46:23 Ideal reader for “Rethinking Competitive Advantage”.
50:03 What’s the future of the competitive landscape?
52:03 Rapid fire.
56:15 Ram’s success mantra.
58:43 Ram’s favorite reads.
1:01:05 Closing remarks.

Stage 1: Lead-in
1. Starter: Give your starter pitch 1-2 points/key takeaways that this book points to:
2. Vishal briefly introduce the guest and kicks off the session

Stage 2: Subject Matter Expertise
3. What is the state of organizations today?
4. How to steer an organization when external forces influence your internals [pandemic etc.]
5. What are some good habits you surfaced for a constantly evolving organization
6. What are some signs that you are steering in the wrong direction?

Stage 3: Introduction as an author
7. Explain your journey to your current role?
8. Could you share something about your current role?
9. What does your company do?
10. Explain your journey to this book?
11. Why write this book?

Stage 4: Main points on the books
12. What has changed about business today that has rendered obsolete the classic rules of competitive strategy established by Michael Porter and others and requires a new playbook?
13. As an advisor to some of the world’s top CEOs, how worried are they about competing with digital giants right now and what is their best hope?
14. Does Wal-Mart stand a chance at competing with the ultimate digital giant of Amazon?
15. Why is imagination such an important skill for competing today?
16. What is the reason companies should spend more time thinking about their ecosystem than on their direct competitors?
17. Why do you say that companies need a money-making model, not a business model, and what’s an example?

Stage 4: Rapid Fire [Say what comes to your mind]
18 a. #FutureOfWork
18 b. #Technology
18 c. #Leadership
18 d. #Competition
18 e. #Partnership
18 f. #Capitalism
18 g. #GoodBusiness
18 h. #BadBusiness
18 i. #FutureOfLearning
18 j. #CompetitiveAdvantage
18 k. #1ThingsMisunderstoodAboutCompetition

Stage 5: Closing
19. What are 1-3 best practices that you think are the key to success in your journey?
20. Do you have any favorite read?
21. As a closing remark, what would you like to tell our audience?
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Keywords:
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