Good things come to those who wait
“I am going to wait for the next big thing”, said Steve Jobs in an interview to Richard Rumelt, the author of ‘Good Strategy Bad Strategy’.
He asked Jobs: Then in 1998 I had the chance to talk with Steve Jobs after he’d come back and turned Apple around. I was there to help Telecom Italia try to do a deal with Apple, but after that business was completed I couldn’t help asking a question. “Steve,” I said, “this turnaround at Apple has been impressive. But everything we know about the personal-computer business says that Apple will always have a small niche position. The network externalities are just too strong to upset the de facto “Wintel”3 standard. So what are you trying to do? What’s the longer-term strategy?
As per the book the kernel of a strategy contains three elements: a diagnosis, a guiding policy, and coherent action. The guiding policy specifies the approach to dealing with the obstacles called out in the diagnosis. It is like a signpost, marking the direction forward but not defining the details of the trip. Coherent actions are feasible coordinated policies, resource commitments, and actions designed to carry out the guiding policy.
Book: Good Strategy Bad Strategy Buy