Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking
Every solution you come up with-no matter how perfect it first appears-carries with it assumptions, leaps of faith and implicit conditions for success. If these are not recognized and attended to, they can turn out to be the Achilles heel in your great idea. So says the former creative advisor to Toyota, in a wide-ranging interview about his latest book, Winning the Brain Game. He presents and describes what he calls 'the seven fatal flaws of thinking': leaping, fixation, over-thinking, satisficing, downgrading, not-invented-here and self-censoring. Using a wide range of real-life examples-from Procter & Gamble to Xerox to Apple-he also shows how to avoid these common thinking flaws.
Swot Analysis of "Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking" written by Matthew E May, Karen Christensen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Flaws Thinking facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategic thinking and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Flaws Thinking, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Flaws Thinking operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Flaws Thinking
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Flaws Thinking
Strengths Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Flaws Thinking in Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Flaws Thinking is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Flaws Thinking is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Flaws Thinking has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Flaws Thinking is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Flaws Thinking is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Flaws Thinking in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Flaws Thinking in the sector have low bargaining power. Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Flaws Thinking to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Flaws Thinking is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Flaws Thinking has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Flaws Thinking is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Flaws Thinking has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Flaws Thinking to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Flaws Thinking is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Matthew E May, Karen Christensen can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Flaws Thinking to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Flaws Thinking to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Flaws Thinking has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Weaknesses Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Flaws Thinking is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Flaws Thinking has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Flaws Thinking 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking, it seems that the employees of Flaws Thinking don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Flaws Thinking has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Flaws Thinking has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Matthew E May, Karen Christensen suggests that, Flaws Thinking is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Flaws Thinking needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Flaws Thinking products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Flaws Thinking needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Flaws Thinking has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Flaws Thinking can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Flaws Thinking has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Flaws Thinking can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Flaws Thinking is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Flaws Thinking can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Flaws Thinking to increase its market reach. Flaws Thinking will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Flaws Thinking can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Flaws Thinking has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Flaws Thinking to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking case study. Flaws Thinking can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Flaws Thinking can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Flaws Thinking can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Flaws Thinking can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Flaws Thinking to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Flaws Thinking to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Flaws Thinking can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Flaws Thinking has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Flaws Thinking to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking are -
Environmental challenges
– Flaws Thinking needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Flaws Thinking can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking, Flaws Thinking may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Flaws Thinking with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Flaws Thinking business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Flaws Thinking has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Flaws Thinking needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Flaws Thinking can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Flaws Thinking can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Flaws Thinking will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Flaws Thinking high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Flaws Thinking in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Flaws Thinking needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Flaws Thinking.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the Seven Fatal Flaws of Thinking is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Flaws Thinking needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.