№ 9 | “5 Myths About Strategy,” “Schwerpunkt,” Mixed-Use Cities, Choice in Narrative Games, and Meaningful Choices
“5 myths about strategy”
I love the structure of this HBR article “5 Myths About Strategy”— short and to the point! State the myth. Explain “Why it’s plausible” then unpack “Why it’s wrong.” It's almost as if this is begging to be turned into a 'check your understanding' game… 🤔
As long as we're on the topic of 'strategy'…
“Schwerpunkt?”
Yes! “Schwerpunkt: The Killer Strategic Concept You’ve Never Heard Of (But Really Need To Know!)” I'm increasingly skeptical of lessons derived from cherry picking success stories, but… I enjoyed this look at how Steve Jobs found Apple's “Schwerpunkt,” or focal point. I'm glad they mention that finding this ‘center of gravity’ is “a dynamic, not a static, concept… It was Jobs’ ability to constantly innovate Apple’s approach, by constantly observing, reorienting and shifting the competitive context.” The challenge I've found is to drive investment in this new direction, when your present strategy is still making money for the business.
Mix-used cities and aliveness
The visual in this tweet caught my attention, and led to a rich and interesting read all about the benefits of mixed-used areas in cities and why some cities feel more alive than others.
While this is explicitly about the benefits of mixed-use areas [hard stop], I'd love to see a more objective analysis of the pros and cons of mixed-use vs single-use zoning, and what kinds of city functions (airports, for example) that should (or seem like they should?) be placed outside of other zones. And I couldn't help but think about the board game Suburbia. 😂
Choice in narrative games
How do you make choices interesting when players revisit the same location/scenarios? I found this game design diary to be an enlightening, and highly accessible read, as the author / game designer Shadi Taha brilliantly unpacks the various challenges he's faced designing meaningful choices into his narrative game. Bonus points for a classic Super Mario reference. Check it out! “Deep Dive: Curating meaningful multiplayer narrative choices in Doomsday Paradise.”
A critical thinking game?
It seems like these “18 pitfalls to be aware of in AI journalism” could be turned into a critical thinking game… What do you think?
