Reed Richards explains the passive voice

The first real Idea102 to be posted at the new blog is one that I've been wanting to do for a while. I see people making pseudo-apologies too many times about how "I'm sorry if you were offended", suggesting that it's the offended person's fault for feeling offense.

Now Idea102 steps in with assistance from Bentley Wittman, the Wingless Wizard, Jonathan Hickman, Dale Eaglesham and Neil Edwards







This is also the first time that I've strung an Idea102 out over two separate issues of a book, but the Wizard story. The first part is collected in the amazing Solve Everything while the second section is not yet collected.

I'm also slightly pleased with myself that I managed to put an actual narrative in this explanation, especially since it was a problematic one to write.

Notes - Porter's Generic Competitive Strategies

The broken laptop was better, but now is more broken, so no photoshopping for at least a week. However, I still want to bring you something from the notepad, so here's Porter's Generic Competitive Strategies.
Porter says firms can compete on cost or differentiation for the whole market or a niche. The organisation must choose a route that it wants to take and stick with it; it should not be distracted by the prospect of short term gains using other strategies.
Cost Leadership comes from increased efficiency in all areas of the value chain. Low cost does not need to lead to a low price - see Toyota. Generally cost leaders are like the easy-enterprise, with no frills. Ikea is a cost leader and also differentiater. Firms must be THE, not A cost leader. First mover advantage helps with this.
Differentiation allows organisations to meet customers' needs better. firms must differentiate on different factors to their competitors. The coffee shop market in St Andrews is an example of this. Firms can charge a premium for their Unique Selling Point (USP). Differentiation costs more money but can lead to high brand loyalty.
Focus requires customers whose needs are not met by the rest of the market and need specialist help. Focusers can compete on cost or differentiation and the narrower scope can be more affordable. Firms must ensure that they meet specific needs better than broad based organisations do. An example would be goalkeeper hockey sticks and their substitutes (children's sticks). Firms should be wary of their small niche collapsing and know that they can't cost focus in markets that need economies of scale. Focussed firms cannot compete where broad firms control a niche.
Critique Strategies are inflexible and can tie an organisation into a long term plan - they can paibnt themselves into a corner and miss out on other strategic options. it can be difficult for organisations to respond to their environment. Firms can be stuck in the middle if these strategies fail or they cannot define themselves. M&S's recent woes are an example of this. Organisations need more sophisticated strategies to compete in changing markets. A viable middle ground exists of creating a presence in a niche and then expanding.

This made more sense to me as an undergrad. I understand what it all means, but I don't understand the notes. Why have I got three main headings for a 2x2 matrix?

Also, please now note that this blog is a week away from its anniversary and has now changed its name to Idea102.

Reed Richards Sings - British Sea Power

This page is from Ultimate Fantastic Four - The Fantastic by Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis and Adam Kubert.



It doesn't teach you anything, but I quite like the song Atom by British Sea Power. It' more suited to Hank Pym Explains, but I'm not writing that blog.

Notes - Growth Share Matrix

My new plan, as I hinted at in the State of the 102 nation post, is to repost notes that I made as an undergraduate. It won't be answering questions, but it will be giving a little bit of information about a number of relatively diverse topics.

Today, the BCG Growth Share Matrix. BCG stands for Boston Consulting Group and this is a way of planning the direction that you take your strategic business units go.

Organisations are made up of SBUs that compete in different markets. Market share generates cash, market growth uses it.

Stars grow quickly and both consume and generate a lot of cash. Stars are the future of the organisation and their position should be protected. Managed right, stars can become cash cows.
Cash Cowsare mature and support the rest of the organisation's SBUs financially. Windows is a cash cow. Organisations protect their cash cows.
Problem children need lots of funding to survive, let alone grow. Firms should select 1 or 2 children to develop into stars and ignore the rest. They should look to increase their market share.
Dogs do not warrant further investment. They come from failed risky ventures. Dogs should be liquidated or have their revenue collected as they die.

State of the 102 Nation

Currently, there's a string of problems with this.

For one, I spent ages without any motivation or inspiration.

For another, my PC with photoshop is kaput, which means that I can't actually make any pictures.

And thirdly, I let my subscription with my image provider lapse, which might explain why all of my pictures are gone. I'm going to look into getting it back, or another way.

I'm going to try doing a different sort of thing in the interim while I get these kinks ironed out.

Reed Richards Explains how phones work

This is dedicated to my favourite invalid, who raised the question a few weeks and has been waiting for an answer ever since. The most surprising and delightful thing about this is that the basic principle of a telephone has not changed greatly in the last century. The Blackberry that you carry in your pocket works in almost the same way as the old candlestick telephones that your great grandparents would have used.

Again, an apology for the long, long wait between updates. There's a small clue in the last post that might explain why there's been so many delays since March.










Original material from Fantastic Four 576 by Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham. This section was largely unlettered, so it's needed me to make my own bubbles for Ben and Reed's conversation. It's also the first time since Id that I've written out a script first, then written in the boxes in a planned way.

Reed Richards explains anxiety and stress

This is a difficult one since it takes a lot of ideas that are difficult to pick apart. Where does stress end and anxiety begin?

It's also the first Idea102 where I've made my own captions and the first where I've had my editor look over it and make changes based on their recommendations.










Art taken again from the superlative Wolf at the Door by Steve McNiven and Roberto Aguire-Sacasa