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All of the analytic tools described in this chapter are judgment-intensive. They depend on proper definition of the business and the product being analyzed.

DEFINING THE BUSINESS The industry position of a multibusiness or multiproduct firm, such as General Motors (GM), is less useful to analyze in the aggregate than are the positions of its individual products or business units. GM has relatively stronger and weaker segments. To aggregate them into a single assessment for GM yields none of the richness of the strategy problem GM faces. Salter and Weinhold (1979, page 268) argue that the level at which to define the unit of analysis is typically driven by strategic considerations (are there well-defined strategic sectors?), resources (are there special capabilities, patents, know-how, etc. that would justify defining a business in a certain way?), and organizational factors (how does the organization chart define business units, divisions, and sectors?).

DEFINING THE PEER GROUP For instance, consider the example of the sporty cars segment (given in the strategic map of Exhibit 6.7). Is the relevant industry for the Porsche Boxster actually automobiles in general, or should it be two-seat European roadsters? Or transportation? Peers are those products or services that are reasonable substitutes in the customer’s mind. For instance, most brands of ketchup are peers in narrow definition—but considered in terms of competition in “sauces,” brands of ketchup, salsa, steak sauce, and gravy might be peers. One can aim to identify peer groups through competitive analysis, the use of focus groups, or the U.S. government’s “SIC”³ code. As discussed elsewhere in this book, the selection of a peer group for comparison will have a huge impact on the insights to be derived.