Strategy Choice Cascade

Download our free Strategy Choice Cascade template today (completed example below)!

The Strategy Choice Cascade is a practical and insightful framework for developing business strategies originally presented by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin in their book “Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works”. This framework focuses on five interconnected questions that guide small business owners in formulating a coherent, comprehensive, and executable strategy. It encourages business owners to think about the purpose of the organization, the playing field where it can achieve the purpose, how to win on the chosen playing field, the capabilities required to win in the chosen way, and the management systems and measures to support the choices.

This structured approach to strategic planning presents an integrated set of choices that ensures all strategic aspects and considerations are aligned and mutually reinforcing, positioning the business in its industry to develop a sustainable competitive advantage and deliver superior value compared to the competition.

Read our detailed guide to Building Winning Strategies to get a better understanding of how to effectively utilize this tool for your business.

Strategy choice cascade diagram with details

If your business is struggling to develop a comprehensive strategy, our team can help. Schedule a discovery session today to understand how our affordable expertise can assist your business. Whether you have the occasional question or require more comprehensive guidance, we offer a range of options to meet your needs.

Completed Strategy Choice Cascade Example

The example below shows a completed Strategy Choice Cascade for a small real estate development company focused on multifamily residential development. Except for the Winning Aspiration, the decisions made in subsequent steps are all meant to support the choices outlined in the previous step. For instance, the How to Win choices support the Where to Play choices while the Where to Play choices support the Winning Aspiration. This way, the nested decision structure ensures all choices are aligned and focused on achieving the winning aspiration.

Click on the image below to download the completed example.