Business types define STRATEGY.
There are three generic types of businesses: The INVESTOR, ENTREPRENEUR and INTERMEDIARY. Strategy must correspond to business types.
(1) The business purpose of the Investor is to identify opportunities which promise hight future potential for top- and bottom-line growth. His function is to provide sufficient funds to enable the business to grow. As a result he benefits from dividends and rising Business Value, which is called TSR Total Shareholder Return. Therefore, the prime objective of Business Strategy is to identify investments with the potential for creating high Customer Value.
(2) For the Entrepreneur the business purpose is to help solving a customer problem. Therefore, his primary objective is to create superior Customer Value. In return this will create Business and Shareholder Value. Again, it is important to understand, that especially for an Entrepreneur the core mission of Strategy is to explore future options for growth by satisfying customer needs – NOT maximising Profits. Profits are the RESULT of Business Strategy, not the prime objective. This is the right way: Great Customer Value leads to high profit leads to great Enterprise Value/Total Shareholder Return.
(3) The Intermediary also plays an important role. He ensures that the solution created by the Entrepreneur gets to the Customer in the best way. His business purpose is to make sure that the right solution gets to the right customer at the right time in the most efficient manner. As a result the Intermediate will make profit, which again is also not the prime goal of his Business Strategy, but the result.
To sum up: Although Business Strategy has to correspond to the various business types the prime objective of Strategy always is to explore options for providing superior Customer Value!