Six Paths Framework

Cómo ejecutarlo

1. 1

   Introduce the framework: explain that the goal is to deliberately look outside the current competitive box through six different lenses. Set the expectation that the session will produce new factor candidates — not final answers.

2. 2

   Path 1 — Alternative Industries (15 min): Ask 'What other industries or products do customers turn to instead of us?' Map the key offerings of those alternatives and identify what factors make them attractive. Capture insights on sticky notes.

3. 3

   Path 2 — Strategic Groups (10 min): Identify the tier structure in your industry (premium, mid-market, value). Ask 'What do players in the tier above us do that our customers envy?' and 'What do tier-below players offer that our customers actually prefer?'

4. 4

   Path 3 — Chain of Buyers (10 min): Map the buyer chain (purchaser, user, influencer). Ask 'Which buyer group does the industry focus on, and which is currently being ignored?' Explore what value factors matter to neglected buyers.

5. 5

   Path 4 — Complementary Offerings (10 min): Map the customer's broader context: what happens before, during, and after they use your product? Ask 'What complementary product or service, if bundled or eliminated, would create or destroy the most friction?'

6. 6

   Path 5 — Functional/Emotional Appeal (10 min): Assess whether your industry competes primarily on functional or emotional terms. Ask 'What would it look like to strip the emotional elements and offer pure function?' or 'What emotional meaning could we add to a functional category?'

7. 7

   Path 6 — Time and Trends (10 min): Identify 2–3 macro trends that are reshaping your market. Project them forward: 'If this trend plays out completely, what factors will customers value that they barely notice today?'

8. 8

   Synthesise: across all six paths, cluster and prioritise the new factor candidates generated. Feed the highest-potential candidates into the Strategy Canvas horizontal axis or the ERRC Grid for further processing.

Consejos

• Participants often stay too close to their existing industry in Path 1. Push hard: a consumer app should look at books, coaches, communities — not just competitor apps.

• Path 3 (chain of buyers) consistently produces the most surprising insights in B2B contexts — the person paying for the product is rarely the person suffering the problem.

• Timebox each path strictly. The goal is breadth of provocation, not depth. Depth comes in the Strategy Canvas and ERRC phases.

• Prepare external stimulus materials in advance: screenshots of alternative industry offerings, trend reports, customer interview snippets. Cold-start ideation rarely produces the best insights.

• Run this framework before — not after — drawing the Strategy Canvas. It ensures the factor list on the horizontal axis is genuinely expansive rather than anchored on existing competitive moves.

Variaciones

For a focused 60-minute version, select only 3 of the 6 paths that are most relevant to the specific strategic question. For an innovation sprint, use only Path 4 (complementary offerings) and Path 6 (trends) to frame future product directions. Can be run asynchronously as pre-work, with findings synthesised in a subsequent workshop.