In the business world, if we compare doing business to racing, for a race car to perform well, it needs several components—a powerful engine, good steering control, proper acceleration timing, and a driver who knows the track. 

From the perspective of Pochara Arayakarnkul, CEO of Bluebik Group, a powerful and fast engine is like the Operations of a business. Meanwhile, steering control, acceleration, and knowledge of the route are no different from having a good strategy, which is equally important in today’s business world. 

Crafting winning business strategies was the key takeaway from the topic “Learn the Hardest Process of Business” that Pochara discussed in the H.O.W. (House of Wisdom) talk session on Friday, November 28, 2025, which covered many interesting points.

How to Create a Winning Strategy

While Operations help a business run smoothly—such as producing quality products at low cost and maintaining continuous production—doing Operations involves many steps that are difficult to focus on perfectly in every aspect. Therefore, in any business, what should be determined first is the strategy. 

Pochara defines strategy as an “integrated set of choices that positions a company to win.” Simply put, it’s about finding competitive advantages and creating differentiation. A company doesn’t need to be better than other companies in everything—being better in just some areas is enough. 

The difficulty of strategy-making lies in making choices. Sometimes things that sound unreasonable may be what needs to be done, and sometimes things that make sense may be difficult to execute.

5A: A Framework for Building Strong Strategy

It must be said that there is no fixed formula for creating a good strategy framework, as it may differ according to the goals and characteristics of each business. However, for a broad approach, you can start with 5 elements: 

Advantages (Competitive Advantages)

Creating competitive advantages can be divided into two types: Horizontal Differentiation and Vertical Differentiation. 

Horizontal Differentiation is creating advantages along a horizontal axis, meaning creating advantages among businesses at the same level that produce similar products, are in the same price range, and where customers can substitute one for another—such as Coke vs. Pepsi, Nike vs. Adidas, Apple vs. Samsung. We might create advantages through lower costs, better locations, or building a brand image that captures certain customer segments better. For example, if selling roll-on deodorant, creating a product that communicates more to males will make male customers want to buy our product more. 

Vertical Differentiation is creating differences in businesses that are completely different from each other, whether in price or other factors—such as Starbucks vs. Taobin, Emirates vs. Vietjet. Even though they differ in price, it doesn’t mean customers will always choose the more expensive option, and sometimes the other side may have more profit. 

Generally, businesses can create advantages by investing in technology, having lower costs, using Network Effect strategies (where people value the product more—for example, among all social media, Facebook has many users, so customers are more likely to choose it), and Economy of Scale where larger businesses have advantages because production costs are lower and they have more bargaining power. 

Anticipation (Forecasting)

Forecasting Market Dynamics—how our actions will affect the market. For example, if we sell products identical to competitors in every way and suddenly decide to undercut their prices, they can cut prices back. Eventually, everyone will set prices at the lowest point where they can still survive. 

Each action has different responses in the real world. When creating strategy, we should think about what options competitors will have if we take this action, and what they’re likely to do. There may be many cases where everyone uses reason, but sometimes they compete emotionally or don’t see the full picture. Therefore, this forecasting won’t be 100% accurate, but it will be mostly correct. 

Approach (Method)

Point 3 is about seeking methods to create advantages by combining points 1 and 2, then thinking about how to generate business profit, which is a step that requires creativity. 

In some cases, small businesses may have advantages because they’re more agile, flexible, and have more options than those already established. Meanwhile, large businesses with many customers may need to consider carefully before making decisions, because taking certain actions might create disadvantages. 

For example, using a judo strategy (doing whatever it takes to hurt competitors more than yourself). In the delivery war series, where one carrier focused on expanding branches, another changed the game by offering doorstep pickup, immediately turning branch networks into costs. This is an action that hurts the bigger player more. 

Activity (Activities)

Once goals are set, the organization should plan by breaking down into smaller activities and assigning team members to work on their respective parts to help drive the strategy to success. 

A simple method is to break big problems into smaller ones, making it easier to identify what actions should be taken. For example, to increase revenue, you need to increase customers and increase purchase frequency. Importantly, you must set KPIs and monitor results regularly. 

Assessment of Impact (Impact Assessment)

Before making business investment decisions, try calculating the damage on paper. Simply put, if you’re going to invest in something, calculate all costs, look at future cash flow compared to money that must be paid, and finalize it on paper before entering the real arena. 

A simple calculation method is to create 2 scenarios: First, what happens if we don’t implement this strategy? Second, what happens if we do? Then add and subtract the results of both scenarios. If the result is positive, you should do it. 

The faster you profit and the faster cash flow replenishes, the better. Another aspect is looking at risk—the lower the risk, the better. 

What to focus on when making strategy is: Is the profit high? Does it take long? And how high is the risk?