Learn
Please enjoy the tutorials, speeches, articles, interviews and reviews that follow. They provide easy access to particular aspects covered by Fad-Free Strategy.
From total to accessible market
In this 5-minute clip Deneffe and Vantrappen explain how the Chief Strategy Officer of Advanced Widgets Inc. made a credible estimate of the accessible market for an innovative new offering being proposed by the company. Using the tools from Fad-Free Strategy, they were able to take into account their customers’ willingness to switch suppliers, and the company’s ability to meet their minimum requirements.
From accessible market to revenues
In this 8-minute clip Deneffe and Vantrappen explain how the Chief Strategy Officer of Advanced Widgets Inc. used the trade-off method to gain an in-depth understanding of customer preferences and make reliable bottom-up estimates of the company’s revenue potential in a new market it was considering to enter.
TEDx talk: Fad-Free Strategy
At a TEDx event organized by HultAshridge in 2017, Daniel Deneffe reviews why strategy fads have lost their appeal and presents a path-breaking way of thinking about strategy. The approach has solid behavioral foundations and is practical, yet rigorous. Above all, it is relevant for all executives who do not want to put their careers on the line by following simple non-generalizable rules.
STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP
In the article “When and how to use a fighter brand to combat a low-price entry”, published by Strategy & Leadership, Daniel Deneffe and Herman Vantrappen explain how to design fighter bands that take profitable share away from a new low-priced entrant without excessive cannibalization of the company’s flagship product.
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
In the article “How Airlines Can Cut Costs — Without Annoying Customers”, published by Harvard Business Review, Daniel Deneffe and Herman Vantrappen explain how airlines can use frequent flyer miles in an “a-la-carte options” approach to reduce those costs that are under their control without annoying customers.
MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW
In the article “Why pricing decisions need more than management intuition”, published by MIT Sloan Management Review, Daniel Deneffe and Herman Vantrappen explain how sound economic and strategic logic can help executives make better management decisions about their offerings and prices.
STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP
In the article “How to improve revenue forecasts from strategic investments”, published by Strategy & Leadership, Daniel Deneffe and Herman Vantrappen explain a proven method based on decision analysis and behavioral economics to make reliable estimates of the likely revenues and profits from making a strategic move.
DIALOGUE REVIEW
In the article “Strategists’ forgotten discipline”, published by Dialogue Review, Daniel Deneffe and Herman Vantrappen argue that real-world microeconomics could breathe fresh life into strategy and lead to more reliable forecasts about the potential revenues of strategic options.
MANAGEMENT.ISSUES
In the article “Why business strategy needs to be more than perfume”, published by Management.Issues, Daniel Deneffe explains why a good business strategy is akin to evidence-based medicine.
LSE BUSINESS REVIEW
In the article “What if the failure of a business strategy is due to its flawed design?”, published by LSE Business Review, Daniel Deneffe and Herman Vantrappen argue that many supposedly great strategies fail because their real greatness has not been evidence-tested prior to execution.
MANAGEMENT TODAY
In the article “Following unscientific fads derived from successful companies can be dangerous”, published by Management Today, Daniel Deneffe and Herman Vantrappen argue that managers should not put too much faith in business heroes.
BUSINESS TALENT GROUP
In an interview with Eric Knox of Business Talent Group (BTG), Herman Vantrappen talks about making evidence-based strategic decisions.
FORBES
On the basis of an interview with Daniel Deneffe and Herman Vantrappen, Roger Trapp of Forbes magazine argues that business leaders should go back to basics and rigorously examine the behavior of the most vital ingredient — the customer.
U-Sentric
In this webinar, David Geerts, Partner of U-Sentric (https://u-sentric.com), a strategic design research company, interviews Daniel Deneffe about strategic and tactical dos and don’ts in the post-COVID era.
33voices
In the podcast “A Customer-Centric Approach To Strategy”, Moe Abdou talks with Daniel Deneffe about his unconventional approach to “fad-free” strategy.
DE TIJD
In an interview with Belgium’s main business newspaper De Tijd, Daniel Deneffe talks about the need to understand customer preferences thoroughly when defining a business strategy.
MANAGEMENT.ISSUES
Olaf Groth’s review concludes that “This book is a must-read for all pragmatic managers who want a rigorous, managerial-economics rooted approach to business strategy that yields near-term results.”