Competitive analysis

• Competitive analysis frameworks (Porter, RBV) are not ends in themselves.

They are just ways of thinking to help identify opportunities.  Use them to frame and focus your analysis and understand the problem context.  When it comes to actually formulating and analyzing a strategy, you will likely need to focus on more company-specific issues (e.g. financing strategy, product and market strategy, people and organization strategy) using a more rigorous approach (decision analysis, finance, economics, etc.)  Do not include the competitive analysis section as a stand alone section, without tying it to the rest of your analysis.  For example, don't just draw up a laundry list of Porter's 5 Forces in your industry.  Rather, use Porter's 5 Forces as a framework and checklist to help you think about the few key driving forces shaping the industry and how it affects client’s opportunities.

New Product Diffusion

• NPD is not a black box, predictive model.

New product diffusion models are just a way of representing knowledge based on analogy, expert opinion, or data analysis.  Do not overestimate the predictive value of the model without considering the quality of the information going into it and what the equations mean.
• NPD applies to industry sales, not company sales.

The model is typically structured to draw on information from past sales experience about how the rates of innovation and imitation characterize the adoption rate for a product.  The analogies to past rates of innovation and imitation typically only hold over product categories, not to one competitor's product versus another.  NPD just tries to estimate the total size of the pie.  Marketing, product quality, and pricing variables will determine how the pie is divided. 

Conjoint Analysis

• CA can be a powerful tool.

CA requires some investment of your time to learn the software and conduct market research, but it is often worth it.  It predicts consumer choices in new products and markets based on real data (primary market research).  It allows you to investigate how changes in product attributes, including price, directly affect market share. 
• Don't stop the analysis at market share outputs of a single run.

Market simulations are just the beginning.  For example, perform sensitivity analysis to study elasticity of demand.  Or vary some of the product attributes to explore the value of improving them.
• Keep focused on the strategic questions you are trying to answer. 

From market share you can estimate revenues, from revenues you can estimate profits, and from profits you can estimate a net present value of the product investment.  However, remember that while CA provides information about market and value potential, it does not assure that the potential can be realized.  Consider the cost and feasibility of realizing the actual product represented by the attributes you are modeling.  Also, consider the competitive factors that you did not capture in the analysis.  Try integrating conjoint with other tools or frameworks, like decision analysis, NPD, or competitive analysis. 
• Use the software if you do CA.

We strongly recommend that you use software to take advantage of adaptive conjoint analysis.  ACA Sawtooth Software (professional version) is available on disk upon request.  We also recommend that you distribute survey files over web (zip files together for easy downloading).  See our sample conjoint survey for an example on how to construct and distribute a survey.  Also, don’t be hasty in thinking the software has restricting limitations - there are usually workarounds.
• Do a “dry run” of the survey and analysis before you take the interview to the field.  

You want to catch mistakes before you send out the surveys.  You will typically only have one shot with each of the respondents. 
• Don’t focus much on the utility levels. 

The utlity measures are just a means to an end.  It’s the market simulation that provides insights.

General

• Focus:  don’t think you need to become an industry expert overnight.  Focus on where you can add value for the client. 
• Methodology: avoid the shotgun approach.  Depth is preferred to breadth. 
• Analysis: don’t place too much emphasis on precise predictions.
• Phraseology:  avoid claiming use of tools as if they were brand names.  For example, instead of  “ we did a Porter analysis …” say "competitive analysis."
• Terms:  clarify the appropriate objective function with the client - use precise terms.  Don’t confuse terms like profit, sales, revenues, market share, demand.
• Mindset: above all, be creative and relevant in your analysis.  Remember that you are addressing a real world problem, not a a problem set.
• Help: don’t be shy about asking the TA for help or references.

Groupwork

Characteristics of Effective Teams 

1. There is a clear unity of purpose. 
There was free discussion of the objectives until members could commit themselves to them; the objectives are meaningful to each group member. 

2. The group is self-conscious about its own operations.
The group has taken time to explicitly discuss group process -- how the group will function to achieve its objectives. The group has a clear, explicit, and mutually
agreed-upon approach: mechanics, norms, expectations, rules, etc. Frequently, it will stop to examined how well it is doing or what may be interfering with its
operation. Whatever the problem may be, it gets open discussion and a solution found. 

3. The group has set clear and demanding performance goals
for itself and has translated these performance goals into well-defined concrete milestones against which it measures itself. The group defines and achieves a
continuous series of "small wins" along the way to larger goals. 

4. The atmosphere tends to be informal, comfortable, relaxed.
There are no obvious tensions, a working atmosphere in which people are involved and interested. 

5. There is a lot of discussion in which virtually everyone participates,
but it remains pertinent to the purpose of the group. If discussion gets off track, someone will bring it back in short order. The members listen to each other. Every idea is given a hearing. People are not afraid of being foolish by putting forth a creative thought even if it seems extreme. 

6. People are free in expressing their feelings as well as their ideas. 

7. There is disagreement and this is viewed as good.
Disagreements are not suppressed or overridden by premature group action. The reasons are carefully examined, and the group seeks to resolve them rather than
dominate the dissenter. Dissenters are not trying to dominate the group; they have a genuine difference of opinion. If there are basic disagreements that cannot be
resolved, the group figures out a way to live with them without letting them block its efforts. 

8. Most decisions are made at a point where there is general agreement.
However, those who disagree with the general agreement of the group do not keep their opposition private and let an apparent consensus mask their disagreement.
The group does not accept a simple majority as a proper basis for action. 

9. Each individual carries his or her own weight,
meeting or exceeding the expectations of other group members. Each individual is respectful of the mechanics of the group: arriving on time, coming to meetings
prepared, completing agreed upon tasks on time, etc. When action is taken, clears assignments are made (who-what-when) and willingly accepted and completed
by each group member. 

10. Criticism is frequent, frank and relatively comfortable.
The criticism has a constructive flavor -- oriented toward removing an obstacle that faces the group. 

11. The leadership of the group shifts from time to time.
The issue is not who controls, but how to get the job done. 

Characteristics of Ineffective Teams 

1. There is low unity of purpose.
Little or no evidence that the group is widely committed to common objectives or that the objectives are meaningful to each member of the group. 

2. The group tends to avoid discussion of its own maintenance.
The group has taken little time to explicitly discuss group process -- how the group will function to achieve its objectives. The group does not have a clear, mutually
agreed-upon approach: mechanics, norms, expectations, rules, etc. There is often much discussion after a meeting of what was wrong and why, but this is seldom
discussed within the meeting itself. 

3. The group has low or ambiguous performance goals for itself.
It has not defined concrete milestones against which it measures itself. The group has not given itself the stimulus of a continuous series of "small wins" along the way
to larger goals. 

4. The atmosphere is likely to reflect either indifference
(lots of side conversations, whispering, etc.), boredom, or tension. The group is not genuinely engaged. 

5. A few people tend to dominate.
Sometimes their contributions are way off the point, but little is done by anyone in the group to keep the group clearly on track. People do not really listen to each
other. Ideas are ignored or overriden. Conversations after group meetings reveal that people failed to express their ideas or feelings. 

6. Personal feelings are hidden.
There is fear that these are too explosive if brought out. 

7. Disagreements are not generally dealt with effectively by the group.
They may be suppressed by those who fear conflict, or there may be a "Tyranny of the Minority" in which an individual or sub-group is so aggressive that the
majority accedes to their wishes in order to preserve the peace. 

8. Actions are often taken prematurely before the real issues are either examined or resolved. 
There is sometimes grousing after the meeting. A simple majority is considered sufficient, and the minority is expected to go along. The minority remains resentful and
uncommitted. 

9. There are one or more group members who do not carry their fair share
, failing to meet expectation of other group members. One or more members are disrespectful of the mechanics of the group: arriving late, coming unprepared, not
completing agreed upon tasks on time, etc. Action steps are either unclear (who-what-when) or some group members are unwilling to accept and complete action
steps at an equal level to other group members. 

10. Criticism may be present, but it is tension-producing or hostile.
Some people avoid giving constructive criticism. 

11. There is a dominant figure in the group who seeks to gain and retain power in the group.