"Three Dangerous Temptations"

"Three Dangerous Temptations
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you should avoid three pitfalls when thinking about where to play. The first is to refuse to choose, attempting to play in every field all at once. The second is to attempt to buy your way out of an inherited and unattractive choice. The third is to accept a current choice as inevitable or unchangeable.
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Failing to Choose
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Focus is a crucial winning attribute. Attempting to be all things to all customers tends to result in underserving everyone. Even the strongest company or brand will be positioned to serve some customers better than others. If your customer segment is “everyone” or your geographic choice is “everywhere,” you haven’t truly come to grips with the need to choose.
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Trying to Buy Your Way Out of an Unattractive Game
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Companies often attempt to move out of an unattractive game and into an attractive one through acquisition. (Moi ici: Isto faz-me lembrar um caso... aqui a vaidade pessoal também tem um peso importante) Unfortunately, it rarely works. A company that is unable to strategize its way out of a current challenging game will not necessarily excel at a different one—not without a thoughtful approach to building a strategy in both industries. Most often, an acquisition adds complexity to an already scattered and fragmented strategy, making it even harder to win overall.
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Accepting an Existing Choice as Immutable It can also be tempting to view a where-to-play choice as a given, as having been made for you. But a company always has a choice of where to play. (Moi ici: Já escrevemos aqui sobre isto, sobre transformar a constante, o dado, numa variável, na sequência dos trabalhos de Storbacka e Nenonen - scripting markets)
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It is tempting to think that you have no choice in where to play, because it makes for a great excuse for mediocre performance. It is not easy to change playing fields, but it is doable and can make all the difference."

Trecho retirado de "Playing to Win" de Lafley e Roger Martin