Where to Play and How to Win
Choose priority markets, then build differentiated advantages customers can feel.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 96%
The method separates strategy into two linked decisions: where the organization should compete and how it will create an advantage there. The team first studies customers who have already adopted the emerging technology, looking for changes in behavior that indicate a durable market transition. It then identifies product categories where the organization has credible brands, capabilities, or distribution advantages. Instead of reproducing the incumbent product with new components, the team defines benefits that the old technology cannot deliver. Opportunities are ranked and launched in a deliberate sequence, allowing early products to establish credibility and supply reusable technology for later ones. The output is a focused portfolio roadmap built around customer pull and meaningful differentiation rather than legacy investment hurdles.
Origin
Extracted from Masters in Business, where Darren Palmer described how Team Edison selected Ford's initial electric-vehicle portfolio.
Core principles
- 01Study committed users before choosing a market.
- 02Compete through capabilities the incumbent technology cannot offer.
- 03Sequence investments around the strongest opportunities.
How to run it
- 1
Find the committed adopters
Study customers who have already moved to the emerging category. Determine whether their behavior represents a durable transition rather than temporary curiosity.
Pro tip Test commitment by asking what would persuade adopters to return to the incumbent alternative.
Watch out Do not rely only on stated purchase intentions from people who have never used the category.
- 2
Choose the playing fields
Rank segments where customer demand, organizational strengths, and market timing intersect. Select a limited sequence rather than attempting every opportunity at once.
Pro tip Look for established brands or capabilities that can reduce adoption risk.
Watch out Legacy financial hurdles may unfairly reject emerging categories before they reach scale.
- 3
Define an asymmetric win
Specify what the new product will do that the incumbent technology cannot. Turn those advantages into a product roadmap and launch order.
Pro tip Make the differentiator demonstrable in a brief customer experience.
Watch out Replacing one component without reinventing the experience usually produces an undifferentiated product.
In the wild
Team Edison studied California EV owners, concluded they viewed EVs as technology products, and selected iconic Ford categories for its opening portfolio. The Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit, and F-150 Lightning each combined electrification with capabilities or experiences beyond a simple engine replacement.
→ Ford entered multiple high-value segments with differentiated products and stronger-than-expected demand.
Common mistakes
Electrifying the old plan
Treating an emerging product as the legacy product with one component replaced ignores the new category's distinctive customer value.
Using only legacy hurdles
Applying mature-product volume and profit assumptions can prevent promising new categories from receiving the investment needed to develop.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for leadership teams allocating substantial resources across an emerging product portfolio.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for minor feature decisions that do not require market selection or portfolio sequencing.
From the transcript
“So the first thing to do was to determine where to play and how to win.”
“They're buying a technology product. And we brought that realization back and said we need to completely change our plan.”
“we made the strategic choice that every vehicle from forward will do things that gas never did, enabled by the technology.”
From the episode
Darren Palmer on the EV Revolution (Podcast)
Darren Palmer