diff --git a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json index 84895b3..f1e6143 100644 --- a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json +++ b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ }, { "name": "pm-product-strategy", - "description": "Product strategy skills for PMs: vision, strategy canvas, value propositions, lean canvas, business model canvas, SWOT, PESTLE, Ansoff Matrix, Porter's Five Forces, and monetization.", + "description": "Product strategy skills for PMs: vision, strategy canvas, value propositions, lean canvas, business model canvas, SWOT, PESTLE, Ansoff Matrix, Porter's Five Forces, Seven Powers, and monetization.", "source": "./pm-product-strategy", "category": "product-management" }, diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 2ec1a89..2ff817c 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ # PM Skills Marketplace: The AI Operating System for Better Product Decisions -> 68 PM skills and 42 chained workflows across 9 plugins. Claude Code, Cowork, and more. From discovery to strategy, execution, launch, growth, and shipping AI-built code. +> 69 PM skills and 42 chained workflows across 9 plugins. Claude Code, Cowork, and more. From discovery to strategy, execution, launch, growth, and shipping AI-built code. ![PM Skills marketplace: skills, commands, and all 9 plugins at a glance](.docs/images/plugins.png) @@ -178,11 +178,11 @@ Commands:
-2. pm-product-strategy — Vision, business models, pricing, competitive landscape (12 skills, 5 commands) +2. pm-product-strategy — Vision, business models, pricing, competitive landscape (13 skills, 5 commands) Product strategy, vision, business models, pricing, and macro environment analysis. Covers the full strategic toolkit from vision crafting through competitive landscape scanning. -**Skills (12):** +**Skills (13):** - `product-strategy` — Comprehensive 9-section Product Strategy Canvas (vision → defensibility) - `startup-canvas` — Startup Canvas combining Product Strategy (9 sections) + Business Model — an alternative to BMC and Lean Canvas for new products @@ -195,6 +195,7 @@ Product strategy, vision, business models, pricing, and macro environment analys - `swot-analysis` — SWOT analysis with actionable recommendations - `pestle-analysis` — Macro environment: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental - `porters-five-forces` — Competitive forces analysis (rivalry, suppliers, buyers, substitutes, new entrants) +- `seven-powers` — Durable competitive advantage analysis across scale economies, network effects, counter-positioning, switching costs, branding, cornered resource, and process power - `ansoff-matrix` — Growth strategy mapping across markets and products **Commands (5):** @@ -211,6 +212,7 @@ Skills: - `Compare Lean Canvas vs Business Model Canvas vs Startup Canvas for my marketplace startup` - `Design a value proposition for our AI writing assistant targeting non-native English speakers` - `Run a Porter's Five Forces analysis for the project management SaaS market` +- `Assess whether our vertical AI agent has a durable competitive moat` Commands: - `/strategy B2B project management tool for agencies` diff --git a/pm-product-strategy/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/pm-product-strategy/.claude-plugin/plugin.json index 223ffed..09c1959 100644 --- a/pm-product-strategy/.claude-plugin/plugin.json +++ b/pm-product-strategy/.claude-plugin/plugin.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "name": "pm-product-strategy", "version": "2.0.0", - "description": "Product strategy skills for PMs: vision, strategy canvas, value propositions, lean canvas, business model canvas, SWOT, PESTLE, Ansoff Matrix, Porter's Five Forces, and monetization.", + "description": "Product strategy skills for PMs: vision, strategy canvas, value propositions, lean canvas, business model canvas, SWOT, PESTLE, Ansoff Matrix, Porter's Five Forces, Seven Powers, and monetization.", "author": { "name": "Paweł Huryn", "email": "pawel@productcompass.pm", diff --git a/pm-product-strategy/README.md b/pm-product-strategy/README.md index 25d0287..2230c28 100644 --- a/pm-product-strategy/README.md +++ b/pm-product-strategy/README.md @@ -1,8 +1,8 @@ # pm-product-strategy -Product strategy skills for PMs: vision, strategy canvas, startup canvas, value propositions, lean canvas, business model canvas, SWOT, PESTLE, Ansoff Matrix, Porter's Five Forces, pricing, and monetization. +Product strategy skills for PMs: vision, strategy canvas, startup canvas, value propositions, lean canvas, business model canvas, SWOT, PESTLE, Ansoff Matrix, Porter's Five Forces, Seven Powers, pricing, and monetization. -## Skills (12) +## Skills (13) - **ansoff-matrix** — Generate an Ansoff Matrix analysis mapping growth strategies across market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification. - **business-model** — Generate a Business Model Canvas with all 9 building blocks. @@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ Product strategy skills for PMs: vision, strategy canvas, startup canvas, value - **pricing-strategy** — Analyze and design pricing strategies including pricing models, competitive pricing analysis, willingness-to-pay estimation, and price elasticity considerations. - **product-strategy** — Generate a comprehensive product strategy using the 9-section Product Strategy Canvas covering vision, segments, costs, value propositions, trade-offs, metrics, growth, capabilities, and defensibility. - **product-vision** — Brainstorm an inspiring, achievable, and emotional product vision that motivates teams. +- **seven-powers** — Assess durable competitive advantage using Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers framework: scale economies, network effects, counter-positioning, switching costs, branding, cornered resource, and process power. - **startup-canvas** — Generate a Startup Canvas combining Product Strategy (9 sections) and Business Model (Cost Structure + Revenue Streams) for a new product. An alternative to Business Model Canvas and Lean Canvas that separates strategy from business model. - **swot-analysis** — Perform a detailed SWOT analysis identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with actionable recommendations. - **value-proposition** — Generate a detailed value proposition using a 6-part JTBD template (Who, Why, What before, How, What after, Alternatives). diff --git a/pm-product-strategy/skills/seven-powers/SKILL.md b/pm-product-strategy/skills/seven-powers/SKILL.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5bec98e --- /dev/null +++ b/pm-product-strategy/skills/seven-powers/SKILL.md @@ -0,0 +1,203 @@ +--- +name: seven-powers +description: "Assess durable competitive advantage using Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers framework — scale economies, network effects, counter-positioning, switching costs, branding, cornered resource, and process power. Use when evaluating defensibility, competitive moats, or long-term strategic advantage." +--- +# Seven Powers + +## Metadata +- **Name**: seven-powers +- **Description**: Assess durable competitive advantage using Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers framework and identify which powers a product has, lacks, or should build. +- **Triggers**: seven powers, competitive moat, defensibility, durable advantage, structural advantage, Helmer, power assessment + +## Instructions + +You are a competitive strategy advisor applying Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers framework to $ARGUMENTS. + +Your task is to identify whether the product or company has a durable competitive advantage, where that advantage is weak, and which structural powers are worth building next. + +## Input Requirements +- Product, company, or business line being assessed +- Market category and main competitors +- Customer segments and buying context +- Current traction, scale, distribution, or usage data +- Existing assets, capabilities, partnerships, or constraints +- Strategic question: current defensibility, future moat building, investment decision, or strategy red team + +## Core Principle + +A power requires both: + +- **Benefit**: the advantage creates superior economics, customer preference, or strategic leverage. +- **Barrier**: competitors cannot easily copy the advantage without time, cost, self-harm, coordination problems, or unavailable resources. + +If there is benefit without barrier, treat it as temporary differentiation, not a true power. If there is barrier without customer or economic benefit, treat it as complexity, not advantage. + +## Seven Powers Framework + +### 1. Scale Economies +Per-unit costs decline as volume increases, letting the company price lower, invest more, or earn better margins than smaller competitors. + +**Evidence to look for:** +- High fixed costs spread across a growing customer base +- Procurement, infrastructure, data, or operating costs improving with volume +- Competitors needing similar scale before matching unit economics +- Ability to reinvest cost advantage into product, price, distribution, or service + +**Common false positives:** +- Revenue growth without improving unit economics +- Scale that competitors can rent through cloud, marketplaces, or vendors +- Cost advantage that disappears in a narrow segment + +### 2. Network Effects +The product becomes more valuable as more users, participants, data contributors, or complementary partners join. + +**Evidence to look for:** +- User value increases with other users or contributors +- Cross-side reinforcement in marketplaces or platforms +- Data, integrations, plugins, or community assets improving with participation +- Difficulty for a new entrant to bootstrap the same network density + +**Common false positives:** +- A large user base with no user-to-user value loop +- Social proof that helps acquisition but does not improve product value +- Network value that can be recreated by importing contacts or data + +### 3. Counter-Positioning +A new business model creates an advantage incumbents cannot copy without damaging their existing economics, channels, brand, or organizational commitments. + +**Evidence to look for:** +- Incumbents would cannibalize profitable revenue by copying the model +- The challenger wins because it embraces a lower-margin, simpler, open, or self-serve model +- Incumbent sales, pricing, or operating structures conflict with the new approach +- Delay by incumbents is rational, not just poor execution + +**Common false positives:** +- A feature incumbents can copy without self-harm +- Lower price without a structurally different model +- "They are slow" as the only barrier + +### 4. Switching Costs +Customers face meaningful cost, risk, effort, data loss, workflow disruption, or political friction when moving to an alternative. + +**Evidence to look for:** +- Deep workflow integration, migration cost, compliance review, or training investment +- Accumulated data, history, configurations, automations, or institutional knowledge +- Multi-stakeholder adoption that makes replacement politically expensive +- Contractual, technical, or operational lock-in paired with ongoing value + +**Common false positives:** +- Customers stay only because competitors are unknown +- Lock-in that creates resentment and weakens retention over time +- Setup effort that is painful once but not durable + +### 5. Branding +The brand creates preference, trust, reduced perceived risk, or willingness to pay that competitors cannot quickly replicate. + +**Evidence to look for:** +- Customers choose the product because of reputation, trust, status, safety, or category leadership +- Brand reduces sales friction or supports premium pricing +- Consistent associations built over time through product experience and market memory +- Preference persists even when competitors offer similar functional benefits + +**Common false positives:** +- Awareness without preference +- Aesthetic polish without trust or pricing power +- Paid acquisition visibility mistaken for brand strength + +### 6. Cornered Resource +The company has preferential access to a scarce asset, capability, relationship, data source, talent pool, license, location, or supply that competitors cannot obtain on similar terms. + +**Evidence to look for:** +- Exclusive or hard-to-replicate access to a critical resource +- Proprietary data, rights, partnerships, distribution, or talent +- Resource scarcity that matters to customer value or unit economics +- Competitors face high cost, delay, or impossibility in acquiring equivalent access + +**Common false positives:** +- Resources that are unique but not strategically important +- Partnerships that are non-exclusive or easily replaced +- Data volume without quality, rights, or usage advantage + +### 7. Process Power +The company has embedded operational excellence, routines, judgment, or coordination that competitors cannot copy because it is tacit, cumulative, and culturally reinforced. + +**Evidence to look for:** +- Superior performance from repeated operating routines, not one-off heroics +- Know-how distributed across teams, tools, incentives, and culture +- Process quality that compounds over time and is hard to document fully +- Competitors can observe the output but not reproduce the system + +**Common false positives:** +- A checklist competitors can copy +- A strong team without a repeatable operating system +- Temporary execution quality from urgency rather than embedded capability + +## Output Process + +1. Define the market and competitor set. +2. Summarize the product's current strategic position. +3. Score each power as **Strong**, **Emerging**, **Weak**, or **None**. +4. For each power, separate: + - Benefit: what advantage it creates + - Barrier: why competitors cannot easily copy it + - Evidence: facts, examples, or assumptions behind the rating + - Gaps: what would need to become true for the power to strengthen +5. Identify the 1-2 most credible current powers. +6. Identify the 1-2 most promising powers to build next. +7. Highlight vulnerabilities where the product has differentiation but no durable barrier. +8. Recommend strategic moves that build or reinforce powers. +9. List validation signals to monitor over the next 30-90 days. + +## Output Template + +```markdown +## Seven Powers Assessment: [Product / Company] + +### Executive Summary +[3-5 sentences: current defensibility, strongest power, biggest vulnerability, best power to build next.] + +### Power Ratings +| Power | Rating | Benefit | Barrier | Evidence | Key Gap | +|-------|--------|---------|---------|----------|---------| +| Scale Economies | Strong / Emerging / Weak / None | | | | | +| Network Effects | Strong / Emerging / Weak / None | | | | | +| Counter-Positioning | Strong / Emerging / Weak / None | | | | | +| Switching Costs | Strong / Emerging / Weak / None | | | | | +| Branding | Strong / Emerging / Weak / None | | | | | +| Cornered Resource | Strong / Emerging / Weak / None | | | | | +| Process Power | Strong / Emerging / Weak / None | | | | | + +### Strongest Current Power +[Name the strongest power and explain the benefit/barrier pair.] + +### Most Promising Power to Build +[Name the next power worth building and why it fits the product's stage, market, and resources.] + +### Competitive Vulnerabilities +- [Where competitors can copy, undercut, bypass, or neutralize the current strategy.] + +### Strategic Moves +1. [Move that reinforces an existing power] +2. [Move that creates evidence for an emerging power] +3. [Move that reduces a vulnerability] + +### Signals to Monitor +| Signal | Why It Matters | Check Frequency | +|--------|----------------|-----------------| +``` + +## Notes + +- Use Seven Powers after Porter's Five Forces when you need to move from industry pressure to company-specific defensibility. +- Use it with Product Strategy Canvas when answering the "Can't/Won't" section: why competitors cannot or will not copy the strategy. +- Treat powers as structural advantages, not slogans. Require evidence for both benefit and barrier. +- Early-stage products may have no strong powers yet. In that case, focus on which power the strategy is designed to build. +- Do not recommend all seven powers. Most strong strategies concentrate on one or two. +- Be explicit about uncertainty. If evidence is missing, call it an assumption and propose how to test it. + +--- + +### Further Reading + +- [The Product Management Frameworks Compendium + Templates](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/the-product-frameworks-compendium) +- [7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy](https://7powers.com/)