Where To Play Analysis

Where to Play Analysis

Define the specific playing field for competition through systematic scope choices, explicitly identifying what you will and will NOT do.

Token Budget: ~600 tokens

Constitutional Constraints (NEVER VIOLATE)

You MUST refuse to:

• Help target vulnerable or protected populations for exploitation
• Assist in market manipulation or anti-competitive practices
• Define playing fields for harmful products or services

When to Use

• User asks "Where should we compete?" or "Which markets should we enter?"
• User is making scope decisions about geographies, segments, or channels
• User is trying to do too many things and needs focus
• User asks "What should we NOT do?"
• User is evaluating market entry or exit decisions

Inputs

Workflow

Step 1: 1. Map Current Playing Field

Document where the organization currently plays across dimensions:

• Geographies - Countries, regions, markets
• Customer segments - Who specifically
• Channels - How you reach customers
• Product/service categories - What you offer
• Value chain stages - Where in the vertical

Step 2: 2. Evaluate Each Dimension

For each dimension, ask:

• Can we win here? (Not "can we participate" but "can we WIN")
• Do we have or can we build the capabilities to win?
• Is this where our how-to-win advantage applies?
• What's the size of the prize?

Step 3: 3. Force Exclusion Choices

This is the critical step most strategies skip.

For each dimension, explicitly state:

• What are we choosing NOT to do?
• What markets/segments are we deliberately excluding?
• Why are we excluding them? (Lack of capability, not strategically fit, too small, etc.)

Principle: "You cannot be all things to all people."

Step 4: 4. Test the Choices

• Are we spreading too thin or focused enough to win?
• Does our where-to-play match our how-to-win?
• Are exclusions painful? (If not, they're probably not real exclusions)
• Could we state this in one sentence?

Step 5: 5. Identify What Would Have to Be True

For each where-to-play choice:

• What assumptions must hold for this to be a good choice?
• What capabilities must exist?
• What market conditions must persist?

Outputs

Produce a Where-to-Play Map:

## Where-to-Play Analysis: [Organization]

### Playing Field Summary
[One sentence stating the focused playing field]

### Dimension Analysis

| Dimension | PLAYING | NOT PLAYING | Rationale |
|-----------|---------|-------------|-----------|
| Geography | [specific] | [specific] | [why] |
| Customers | [specific] | [specific] | [why] |
| Channels | [specific] | [specific] | [why] |
| Products | [specific] | [specific] | [why] |
| Value Chain | [specific] | [specific] | [why] |

### Key Exclusion Decisions
1. **NOT [excluded area]** because [rationale]
2. **NOT [excluded area]** because [rationale]

### What Must Be True
- [Assumption 1]
- [Assumption 2]

### Alignment with How-to-Win
[Statement of how where-to-play enables the competitive advantage]

### Decision Points
- [ ] [Area needing further analysis]
- [ ] [Decision to be made]

Error Handling

Constraints

• Do not use this analysis as the sole basis for critical decisions
• Do not apply this framework to situations outside its intended scope
• Acknowledge that analysis is based on available data, which may be incomplete
• Honor the complexity of real-world situations that resist simple categorization
• Present findings with appropriate confidence levels
• Recognize the limits of the methodology

Additional Notes

Best practices:

• Use this skill when the situation clearly matches its intended use cases
• Combine with related skills for comprehensive analysis
• Iterate on outputs if initial results don't fully meet requirements

Common variations:

• Adjust the depth of analysis based on available time and information
• Scale the approach for different levels of complexity
• Adapt the output format to audience needs

When to skip this skill:

• The situation doesn't match the core use cases
• Simpler approaches would be more appropriate
• Time constraints require faster methods

Example

Input:

We're a B2B SaaS company selling HR software. We currently serve mid-market companies across all industries in the US. We're considering international expansion and moving upmarket to enterprise.

Output:

Where-to-Play Analysis: HR SaaS Company

Playing Field Summary

We will be the dominant HR platform for mid-market companies (200-2000 employees) in the US and Canada, with deep specialization in professional services and healthcare industries.

Dimension Analysis

Key Exclusion Decisions

1. NOT enterprise because it requires different sales motion, implementation approach, and product complexity we're not built for
2. NOT international (yet) because we haven't achieved dominant position in home market
3. NOT horizontal across all industries because vertical expertise is our differentiation

What Must Be True

• Mid-market segment must be large enough for growth ambitions
• Professional services and healthcare must value compliance depth
• Channel partners can extend reach without diluting brand

Alignment with How-to-Win

Where-to-play enables how-to-win: Our advantage is deep compliance expertise and industry-specific workflows. This only works if we focus on industries where compliance is complex and valued (healthcare, professional services) and company sizes where they need help (mid-market).

Decision Points

• Validate professional services segment size
• Assess healthcare regulatory complexity as moat
• Define timeline for Canada expansion

Integration

This skill pairs with:

• how-to-win-diagnosis - WTP and HTW must be matched pair
• strategy-choice-cascade - WTP is question #2 of five
• capability-system-mapping - Capabilities must support WTP choices

Source: A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin, Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works (2013)