Mintzberg 5Ps of Strategy

STRATEGY A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal.

5 PsPlan Position Pattern PerspectivePloy THE 5Ps

PLANIt is a set of consciously intended course of action, a guideline (or set of guidelines) to deal with a situation. By this definition strategies have two essential characteristics: 1) They are made in advance of the actions to which they apply 2) They are developed consciously and purposefully.

PLOYIt is a specific manoeuvre intended to outwit an opponent or competitor.The real strategy is the threat, not the new practice area itself.Threatened litigation often falls into this category.

PATTERNA pattern is a stream of actions.Defining strategy is incomplete and needs an outline that encompasses the resulting behavior. The outcome of strategy does not derive from the design, or plan, but from the action that is taken as a result. A pattern makes a strategy consistent in behavior, whether or not intended.

POSITIONPosition implies a specific means of locating a firm in its environment.In management terms: a "domain" consisting of a particular combination of services, clients and markets. Position is defined competitively.

PERSPECTIVEPerspective looks inward into the firm.Strategy is a perspective shared by members of an organisation, through their intentions and / or by their actions. In effect, when we talk of strategy in this context, we are entering the realm of the collective mind - individuals united by common thinking and / or behaviour.