In the first introductory episode of this week, I mentioned the big picture strategy, and I emphasized some of its key components and then also said that there are some challenges to that. Well, before we talked in detail about these challenges, let's say a few more words about how these components of strategy can be looked at and how we can have some terminology or some better understanding of what's going on here. So, I would put that something like the strategic or strategy vocabulary and frameworks. Well, this is not the same but for us, it will be easier that way. First of all, in terms of vocabulary and frameworks, there are multiple terms and frameworks. So, I would refer here to our handouts and to our book because sometimes, these frameworks there are like two dozen of them, and here, I am not willing to repeat them. But what I would point out some that seem to be most important for us to study the strategy within the idea of M & A, and this is synergy, or two plus two is five or two plus three is seven, if it's even beta. And I would also point out certain things that don't seem to be most widely mentioned but they're key in this changing environment. This is inside an intuition. So, some people are just they invent things. They see the future better than others and these people in recent two three decades they contribute to the creation of huge companies that without which we now can not even see the landscape of the global market. And also, I would point out the idea that is widely mentioned in the old world. This is entrepreneurship Well, I can foresee some of the smiles or even ironic views here because entrepreneurship is a huge buzzword, everyone uses that. But what I mean by that, the strategy is that that is closely linked to change. If you keep doing what you've been doing for quite a few years, then you are likely to fail because situation changes. It's everywhere. It's in M & A, it's in all industries. Now, when I am teaching this course with the use of online technologies, this is again some important changes to the way people used to engage in the education process. That by no means precludes other ways like standard, classic, personal and others, but still that did not exist, maybe you knew two dozen, 20 years ago. Now that's one thing. Because for now, some people who studied strategy can say, well, you are focusing on something that is not the main focus in studying strategies. Well, I devote this page of flip chart to some, I will put, frameworks that a lot of people will be familiar with. Well first of all, I will mention again just a few, there are many more mentioned materials but one framework is sort of associated with cost advantage and cost leadership but that includes product life cycle, learning curves, costly leadership, so this is sort of a bunch of these things. Then another is competition and differentiation. So, we are talking about specific part of competitions. So, we are making something that no one else can match. Then another thing here is the idea of value chains. You may not be good in doing something but you may be great in doing the other part and this is a lengthy process that results in the creation of a good product. So, if you found the part of this process that you can do the best, then you better get involved in that. Now there are some others. And these are let's say knishes and focus. So, sometimes you do small things that you really best at. And then finally as I mentioned more than once here, we can see technology, technological leadership, and I would put here in the same curve, this is managing change in general. Easier said than done, kind of buzzword. A lot of people talk about that but we still have to keep this in mind. So, all that affects M & As, and all that leads us to the next episode then we'll look at that more thoroughly and say, well, what challenges that we face and why sometimes it's easier said than done. I specifically mentioned that because one of the biggest challenges is that people sometimes take strategy as something obsolete, something old-fashioned that now, you have to be just adaptive, you have to manage change, you have to forget about what a lot of people who studied that proposed as a ways of solution. Well, this is not so doomed, if you will. And in order to avoid making blunders, we will, in the next episode, say a few words about what must be watched with caution.
