The Winning Moves patterns of business success repeat over and over again. If you understand these patterns, they can be a valuable guide to successful strategic choices. Based upon my 25+ years of research, these patterns result from studying strategic moves to identify differences between the successes and the failures. As time progressed, I kept adding more information, and it has indicated that the patterns had staying power.
My method of studying a large number of moves differs from the approach used by many other researchers. Yet, my findings are often confirmed by and/or are consistent with the findings of prominent researchers in academia and in industry. For example, much of the research in Jim Collins’ current best-selling book Great by Choice, co-authored with Morten Hansen, confirms the patterns that I identified and have been discussing here on my website over the last several years. Additionally, work on adjacencies by Zook ties in with my findings. So does work in academia, such as research at the University of Virginia.
The extensive and ongoing nature of my research into business success patterns led to the development of an overall framework, put together by examining a number of diverse, but highly interrelated pieces. By understanding these interrelationships, my research not only identifies the patterns, but it also does a great deal to explain them. Similarly, my work has offered explanations of the findings of other prominent researchers. And, when other prominent researchers seem to disagree with one another, my framework can sometimes offer insights showing why their studies do not actually conflict if you more deeply understand their findings.
To recap, the Winning Moves patterns are powerful, recurring, look at both success and failure, have received some outside validation, can offer meaningful explanations, and are a very valuable tool when companies are making strategic choices. That’s why this website is created around a philosophy based upon the Power of Patterns. And, as I discuss companies and current business news in this blog, in my newsletters, and in my reports, I illustrate how applying these patterns brings superior results. For example, in my
previous blog post, I discussed how Macy’s success with Black Friday entails Winning Moves that adhere to the patterns. But, I’ll also share examples of other situations where ignoring the patterns leads to failure.
Finally, it is important to remember that, while these patterns are so integral to business success, the patterns are not necessarily obvious to everyone, especially in light of business practices that have been widely accepted relatively recently, but may not be based on these patterns. In fact, several of these patterns are still unclear to many. So, the patterns are often misunderstood and misused. As the understanding of these patterns becomes more widespread, there is greater potential for them to be used effectively. The patterns are not a magic bullet. But, once you see how powerful these patterns are, you’ll know why they are so essential for business success.
