The Tech Strategy Podcast

This week’s podcast is about political risk in China tech, but really it is about how to think systematically about the role of the State. And about making investment decisions on uncertain terrains.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
Here are five investment approaches to uncertain environments.

1. Stay out.
2. Buy and sell fast.
3. Focus on quantitative certainties. Tangible assets.
4. Focus on really great businesses. And qualitative factors. Buy and hold through tough times.
5. Demand a bigger margin of safety.

How to assess the role of the State and political risk:

• Question 1: Does the State have an active role in this sector?
  • If so, don’t go forward until you can understand it. It is one of three key forces.
  • If no role, then you can view this with a typical industry approach.
• Question 2: If there is an active role, what are the State’s interests? What is the evidence for this?
  • Is it actively supporting?
  • Is it against against rapid or significant development?
  • Is it just muddy and mixed?
• Ques 3: If it is actively supporting, then ask how this firm is advancing the State’s interests? How is it working with govt? That is the main thing that matters.

About Giants, Dwarves and the State. See my webpage link.
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Related articles:

• What TikTok Can Learn From Huawei About the Role of the State (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 39)
• How Tsingtao, CR Snow and the Other Beer SOEs Won Big in China (Pt 2 of 2)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Role of the State
• Giants, Dwarves and the State

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• Philip Fisher
• Ben Graham

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I write and speak about digital China and Asia’s latest tech trends.
I also run Tech Strategy, a podcast and subscription newsletter on the strategies of China / Asia tech companies.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

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This week’s podcast is about TikTok vs. Netflix. And how consumer behavior combines with digital tools in the video space.
You can listen to this podcast here, which has the slides and graphics mentioned. Also available at iTunes and Google Podcasts.
Here is the link to the TechMoat Consulting.
Here is the link to the Tech Tour.
Here is the interview with Jonathan Haidt. And his book the Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Here are the 5 lessons:
Lesson 1: High Frequency Video MTV Was More Powerful Than Long-Form TV Stories
Lesson 2: Digital-First Netflix Crushed Cable TV with Selection, Price, and Convenience
Lesson 3: Interactive YouTube and Streaming Was More Powerful than Passive Videos
Lesson 4: TikTok Trumped Netflix Using “Endless Dopamine”
Lesson 5: Machine Learning-Centric Video TikTok Was Also Superior for Consumers and Creators
Here are the 5 mentioned content types

• Education
• Story telling
• Mindless entertainment. Including things like comedy.
• News / Politics
• Sports

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I write, speak and consult about how to win (and not lose) in digital strategy and transformation.
I am the founder of TechMoat Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that helps retailers, brands, and technology companies exploit digital change to grow faster, innovate better and build digital moats. Get in touch here.
My book series Moats and Marathons is one-of-a-kind framework for building and measuring competitive advantages in digital businesses.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment, legal or tax advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. This is not investment advice. Investing is risky. Do your own research.
Photo is AI generated

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This is Part 2 in a three part series about Alibaba and Ant Group. The focus was on Alibaba's ability to continually adapt to new markets, consumer behaviors, technologies and opportunities. The idea of adaptability and innovation are increasingly discussed as key competitive abilities. Part 1 is here.
To investigate that, I spoke with Martin Reeves, who is Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute. And has long written about adaptability and rate of learning as critical parts of strategy. Here is his summary from the BCG website:
"Since joining BCG in 1989, Martin has led a broad range of strategy assignments in the Financial Institutions, Consumer Goods, Industrial Goods and Health Care sectors. He has particular expertise in the areas of adaptive strategy, strategy for multi-business systems, sustainability strategies, ecosystem strategies, collective learning and innovation, corporate vitality, and trust."
Specifically, we spoke about his paper with Ming Zeng about Alibaba as a self-tuning enterprise. Although we did go off to other ideas pretty quickly. The main question was how Alibaba had been so successful for two decades in business after business.
You can listen to this podcast here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
Related podcasts and articles:

• How Ant Financial / Ant Group is Revolutionizing Finance (1 of 3) (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 47)
• How Big Will Ant Financial / Alipay Become? (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 28)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 8, with a focus on:

• #32: Adaptation and Resilience

Concepts for this class.

1. Adaptation and Resilience
2. SMILE Marathon: Sustained Innovation

Companies for this class:

• Ant Financial / Alipay / Ant Group
• Alibaba

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I write, speak and consult about how to win (and not lose) in digital strategy and transformation.
I am the founder of TechMoat Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that helps retailers, brands, and technology companies exploit digital change to grow faster, innovate better and build digital moats. Get in touch here.
My book series Moats and Marathons is one-of-a-kind framework for building and measuring competitive advantages in digital businesses.
Note: This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers

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This is part 2 about Xiaomi, Meitu and 7 reasons why platforms / ecosystems succeed or fail. Part 1 is here.
You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and Himalaya.
7 reasons why ecosystems (and platforms) fail (by BCG):

1. Insufficient problem to solve
2. Wrong ecosystem configuration
3. Wrong governance choices
4. Inadequate monetization
5. Weak launch strategy
6. Weak defensibility
7. Bad execution

Cited in this talk:

• Why Do Most Business Ecosystems Fail (BCG)

Related podcasts and articles:

• Xiaomi, Meitu and Why Platforms Fail (1 of 2) (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 43)
• Review: Why Digital Platforms Are the Super Predators of Business (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 16)

This is part of Learning Goals: Level 7, with a focus on:

• #30: Ecosystems vs. Digital Platforms

Concepts for this class:

• Ecosystems vs. Digital Platforms
• SMILE Operational Marathon: Ecosystem Orchestration and Management
• Switching costs
• Share of consumer mind

Companies for this class:

• Xiaomi
• Meitu

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I write, speak and consult about how to win (and not lose) in digital strategy and transformation.
I am the founder of TechMoat Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that helps retailers, brands, and technology companies exploit digital change to grow faster, innovate better and build digital moats. Get in touch here.
My book series Moats and Marathons is one-of-a-kind framework for building and measuring competitive advantages in digital businesses.
Note: This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show

This week’s podcast is about Huawei's new AI tech stack, which is impressive in its ability to provide end-to-end solutions. Also their new "All Intelligence" Strategy.
You can listen to this podcast here, which has the slides and graphics mentioned. Also available at iTunes and Google Podcasts.
If you’re interested in talking digital strategy and transformation for your business, contact us at TechMoat Consulting.
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Related articles:

• What TikTok Can Learn From Huawei About the Role of the State (Jeff’s Asia Tech Class – Podcast 39)
• How Tsingtao, CR Snow and the Other Beer SOEs Won Big in China (Pt 2 of 2)

From the Concept Library, concepts for this article are:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Cloud
• Digital and AI Transformation

From the Company Library, companies for this article are:

• Huawei

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I write, speak and consult about how to win (and not lose) in digital strategy and transformation.
I am the founder of TechMoat Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that helps retailers, brands, and technology companies exploit digital change to grow faster, innovate better and build digital moats. Get in touch here.
My book series Moats and Marathons is one-of-a-kind framework for building and measuring competitive advantages in digital businesses.
This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment, legal or tax advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. This is not investment advice. Investing is risky. Do your own research.

Support the show