management

Learning goal: To develop your ability to systematically analyze and plan for a dynamic, fast-growing organization.  You will prepare a strategic analysis of/plan for Warby Parker.  Your “client” is that organization’s top management team.  Your paper will be graded on the basis of its insight, logic, and scope.

Your paper should be three pages, double-spaced, using 12-point type, not including appendixes, exhibits, and/or references.  You may either write an essay or organize your paper as an outline.  In either case, please follow this format:

Page 1:

• Current capabilities—as a mix of differentiation (D), economy (E), and interaction (I).

   All three criteria matter, but most organizations can excel against only one or two—so

   there are six viable strategic options: D, E, I, DE, DI, or EI.  You are to select and

   then defend one of these options. Some DEI parallels from the strategy literature are

   listed on p. 107 of The Geometry of Strategy.

• Current customers, competitors, and complementors (C3)

Page 2:

• Your time frame (planning horizon), and rationale for that date

• Your proposed capabilities priority (choose one: D, E, I, DE, DI, or EI)

• Your expected/proposed C3

Page 3:

• Rationale for your proposed capabilities

• Rationale for your expected/proposed C3

• Major implementation issue(s)