Contrary to the prevailing wisdom to build on one's strength, this presentation warns from the ill effects of such a practice. It is more important to deal with your weaknesses while maintaining balance of your focal strengths. Businesses, investors and others might find this presentation challenging

1. Build on Your Weakness
Ali Anani

2. Build on Strength or Weakness?
A simple question that may exhibit the “Butterfly Effect”
The prevailing wisdom is to build on your
strength
Is to turn the familiar into unfamiliar
Challenge inherited wisdoms and beliefs
Wisdom
Build on your weakness
Creativity
New
Wisdom
Challenge

3. THE STRENGTH OF AN ORGANIZATION
THE WEAKNESS OF AN ORGANIZATION
The Intrinsic Gap
The Gap between Strength and Weakness
Gap

4. THE STRENGTH OF AN ORGANIZATION
THE WEAKNESS OF AN ORGANIZATION
The Intrinsic Gap
We tend to Increase the gap- Why?
Gap

5. THE STRENGTH OF AN ORGANIZATION
THE WEAKNESS OF AN ORGANIZATION
The Intrinsic Gap
We tend to Increase the gap- Why?
Gap
As Gerald Nanninga responded to my comment
by saying “The studies I have read indicate that it is
usually easier to exploit a strength you already
have than to try to create a strength where there is
a weakness.Therefore, building on weaknesses can
be very risky”.

6. THE STRENGTH OF AN ORGANIZATION
THE WEAKNESS OF AN ORGANIZATION
The Intrinsic Gap
We tend to Increase the gap- this is a risky business
Gap
Anani showed in an earlier presentation
on slideshare entitled “Business Ideas
Inspired by Eggs” that increasing gaps
weakens any system

7. THE STRENGTH OF AN ORGANIZATION
THE WEAKNESS OF AN ORGANIZATION
The Intrinsic Gap
We tend to Increase the gap- this is a risky business
Gap
Strengthening the strength while keeping
the weakness increases the gap and
weakens the system. Remember the it is
the weakest point that determines the
strength of a system

8. THE STRENGTH OF AN ORGANIZATION
THE WEAKNESS OF AN ORGANIZATION
The Intrinsic Gap
We tend to Increase the gap- in contrast, we should reduce the gap
Gap
We should reduce the gap between
strengths and weaknesses to strengthen
any organization and not the other way
round

9. The Strength-Weakness Quadrant
Where to start?

10. The Strength-Weakness Quadrant
A Balanced View
The balanced view
is achieved by
focusing on
quadrants 3 and 4

11. The Strength-Weakness Quadrant
A Balanced View
By keeping impacting
strengths and dealing
with spiraling
weaknesses to reduce
the gap between them

12. The Strength-Weakness Quadrant
A Balanced View- Support from Charles Prabakar
Prabakar responded to a
comment of mine by saying
“HelloAli,
Sure, I understand your point of
building on weaknesses – provided we
do it within the context of our
balancing opposite’s principle- which
is exactly my point of building a
preventive/overcoming strategy on
top of one’s weaknesses”.

13. An Extensible Approach
Greed-Fear Quadrant

14. An Extensible Approach
Greed-Fear Quadrant
Investors should balance quadrants 3
and 4. However; using the same
analogy as before investors should
reduce the gap between these two
quadrants if they are to invest wisely.
Failing to do so will only weaken
them.

15. The Rabbit and the Tortoise
The Tortoise Won Because of the Rabbits’ Weakness in
Crossing a Water Pool
Your today’s strength might be redundant
tomorrow
Feeling of strength might fill you with failure.
IBM failed to see the incoming threat because
of “Strength Blindness”
Organizations fail because of their
weaknesses and not strengths

16. Organizational Adaptability and Capacity

17. Best of All… Be Creative at the Boundary