A simple, popular framework for business strategy is to focus on where to play (which industry or market to serve) and how to win (what it takes to outperform in that area). However, the “how” is now much more important than “where”: the reward for being a top performer is increasing across all industries. Unfortunately, these rewards are offset by an increasingly rapid regression to the mean.

As a new decade begins, all companies – regardless of their starting positions – will need to reinvent themselves for sustained success in the new competitive environment of the 2020s.