Bill Gates always had quite a lot to say about strategy. In the manner of management gurus he has isolated six things that a company should do to achieve success in any market.
It should:
1. Concentrate on a market with big potential and few competitors
2. Get in early and go in big
3. Set up a proprietary position
4. Protect that position using every method available
5. Aim for high gross margins or the highest available
6. Make customers an offer they find hard, if not impossible, to refuse
It is interesting to note that Microsoft has not always been the best or the first but it has become the biggest. For example Gates was originally dismissive of the internet. Windows came years after Apple’s graphic interface. It’s product is often regarded as inferior to others. Windows if full of security issues.
Should we really be listening to Bill?