I have a hypothesis that all strong businesses make a deliberate choice between three areas about where to excel.

It’s very difficult to be a “balanced” business. That is, you can’t be perfect in all three areas. Ultimately, decisions are made by people and people value different things.

Product
Quality focus. Product development is slower, because the team is willing to wait until it’s done. Strength: Reputation over time. Weakness: Disconnect between market and offering, unable to sell. Value: Products are better than their competitors.

Sales
Customer focus. Perception is the product. Strength: Tight feedback between customer and product development. Weakness: Products are shipped according to the schedule, irrespective of whether they’re ready. Value: Products are faster than their competitors.

Operations
Cost focus. Supply chain. OpEx at all costs. Strengths: Reliability. Weaknesses: Slower to innovate. Value: Products are cheaper than their competitors.