Product Strategy : What is Strategy? -- 2

I asked a very young reader to give me a very brief summary of a previous post What is strategy? He replied: "Everything is leverage."

I realized at once that I had failed to write clearly. Still, I joked: "Oh, yes, making the competition believe that everything is leverage is a good leverage too ... because, as Sun Tzu says, when you defend everywhere, you're not defending anywhere."

Yesterday, we asked: "Are beans in bamboo containers strategic for your army? " and answered "Yes" to that question.

But not all bags of beans can be strategic. They are when they meet the following conditions:

1. The competition sort of relied on their cavalry. What if they came in boats, on elephants, or merely on foot?
2. Their horses were poorly fed. What if the other side's commander got wind of you plan and prepared properly for that?
3. You can take advantage of the ensuing chaos in their cavalry. What if you were far too outnumbered?
4. The other side's commander would not adapt quickly. What if they dismounted and shot with their arrows, as the Mongols would/did?
5. Even the weather would be on your side: If it rained too heavy,  if the wind blew too hard, their horses would not be able to catch the enticing smell of your steaming beans on the grounds.
6. The other side's horses would not come with mouth guards.
7. The other side did not use some medicine to de-sensitize their horses' sense of smell.
8. Maybe many, many more factors.

These are trash, hoarding, OCD(Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), not strategic assets.

When Do Trash Become Strategic Assets?

You need the big picture, the mosaic, the collage where each trash becomes a component, an element, a cog the wheel, a brick in the cathedral, and so on.

How Do You Get the Big Picture, the Mosaic, the Collage?

Two methods as far as I know:

1. Your parents have coup d'oei in their DNA
2. You hire McKinsey, Bain, Booz, Accenture, HopeHero etc.