The 3 core levels

Strategic levels are a simple structure used in most organisations (and still useful for startups). Each level answers a different question and has different decision owners.

1) Corporate strategy

Defines the overall direction and where the organisation chooses to play.

Scope: Which markets / geographies / business lines?
Portfolio: Invest / grow / exit decisions.
Capital allocation: where the money goes.
Risk appetite: what risks are acceptable.

2) Business strategy

Defines how to win in a specific market (competitive advantage).

Positioning: who you target + why you’re different.
Value proposition: customer problem → solution value.
Competitive advantage: cost, differentiation, focus.
Trade-offs: what you will NOT do.

3) Functional strategy

Defines how to deliver the business strategy through departments and processes.

Marketing: channels, funnel, brand, pricing execution.
Operations: process, quality, capacity, supply.
Finance: budgets, cash, controls, funding plan.
People: hiring, roles, incentives, culture.

How the levels connect (simple flow)

Think of the levels as a chain. If the top is unclear, everything below becomes random.

Decision flow

Corporate: Where do we compete and why?
Business: How do we win against alternatives?
Functional: What must each function do to deliver?

Common mistake

“We need better marketing” is not a business strategy. It’s a functional fix. Business strategy should define the positioning and advantage first, then marketing decides how to deliver it.

Startup translation (so this works for your users)

Startups don’t have departments, but the logic still applies — it just becomes faster and more compact.

Level	Startup version	Example questions
Corporate	Founder / company direction (scope + long-term choices)	Which country first? Which customer group first? What do we refuse to build?
Business	How your product wins in the market	Why choose you over alternatives? What is your edge? Price vs differentiation?
Functional	Execution systems: marketing, build, support, operations	Which channels? Which roadmap? What hiring plan? How do we deliver reliably?

Alignment checklist (fast self-test)

Use this to detect mismatch between levels. If you answer “no” to any, you have an alignment gap.

Corporate → Business

Do we know our scope (market/customer/geography) clearly?
Do we know what “winning” looks like (advantage, positioning)?
Do we have clear trade-offs (what we won’t do)?

Business → Functional

Do marketing/sales decisions match the positioning?
Does the roadmap build the advantage (not random features)?
Do budgets/time/people match priorities?

If your functional plans look strong but results are weak, the issue is often above: unclear business strategy or wrong scope.

Strategic Levels

How strategy decisions flow from big direction → how to win → how to deliver.

Most strategy problems happen because the levels are mixed: a functional decision is treated like a business strategy, or a business decision is made without a corporate direction.

The 3 core levels

Strategic levels are a simple structure used in most organisations (and still useful for startups). Each level answers a different question and has different decision owners.

1) Corporate strategy

Defines the overall direction and where the organisation chooses to play.

Scope: Which markets / geographies / business lines?
Portfolio: Invest / grow / exit decisions.
Capital allocation: where the money goes.
Risk appetite: what risks are acceptable.

2) Business strategy

Defines how to win in a specific market (competitive advantage).

Positioning: who you target + why you’re different.
Value proposition: customer problem → solution value.
Competitive advantage: cost, differentiation, focus.
Trade-offs: what you will NOT do.

3) Functional strategy

Defines how to deliver the business strategy through departments and processes.

Marketing: channels, funnel, brand, pricing execution.
Operations: process, quality, capacity, supply.
Finance: budgets, cash, controls, funding plan.
People: hiring, roles, incentives, culture.

How the levels connect (simple flow)

Think of the levels as a chain. If the top is unclear, everything below becomes random.

Decision flow

Corporate: Where do we compete and why?
Business: How do we win against alternatives?
Functional: What must each function do to deliver?

Common mistake

“We need better marketing” is not a business strategy. It’s a functional fix. Business strategy should define the positioning and advantage first, then marketing decides how to deliver it.

Startup translation (so this works for your users)

Startups don’t have departments, but the logic still applies — it just becomes faster and more compact.

Level	Startup version	Example questions
Corporate	Founder / company direction (scope + long-term choices)	Which country first? Which customer group first? What do we refuse to build?
Business	How your product wins in the market	Why choose you over alternatives? What is your edge? Price vs differentiation?
Functional	Execution systems: marketing, build, support, operations	Which channels? Which roadmap? What hiring plan? How do we deliver reliably?

Alignment checklist (fast self-test)

Use this to detect mismatch between levels. If you answer “no” to any, you have an alignment gap.

Corporate → Business

Do we know our scope (market/customer/geography) clearly?
Do we know what “winning” looks like (advantage, positioning)?
Do we have clear trade-offs (what we won’t do)?

Business → Functional

Do marketing/sales decisions match the positioning?
Does the roadmap build the advantage (not random features)?
Do budgets/time/people match priorities?

If your functional plans look strong but results are weak, the issue is often above: unclear business strategy or wrong scope.

What this tool does

PESTEL helps you understand the macro forces around your business idea in a country context. You’ll get risks, opportunities, actions and a severity score.

6 dimensions: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal
Prioritize with severity (1–5)
Use Raw JSON to chain into other frameworks

Guidance only — validate with sources and interviews.

Strategic Levels — Learn

Strategic Levels

The 3 core levels

How the levels connect (simple flow)

Startup translation (so this works for your users)

Alignment checklist (fast self-test)

Strategic Levels

The 3 core levels

How the levels connect (simple flow)

Startup translation (so this works for your users)

Alignment checklist (fast self-test)

What this tool does