Woody Allen

Strategic Concepts & Mechanics

Cornerstone MoveClose Every Circle Until Control Is Complete

Competitive AdvantageFashion Signature as Margin Multiplier

Signature MovePaternalistic Covenant With the Valley

Strategic PatternSubcontractor Apprenticeship as Espionage

Strategic PatternLow Cost Many Models Flood Strategy

Identity & CultureOrphan Hunger as Permanent Engine

Cornerstone MoveBuy the Myth Then Rebuild It From the Product Up

Risk DoctrineCash Fortress Before the Storm Hits

Identity & CultureSilicon Valley Peers Not Italian Peers

Operating PrincipleBring Production Home When Quality Fails

Signature MoveEvery Euro Saved Is an Extra Euro in Profit

Risk DoctrineOwnership Separated From Management

Competitive AdvantageClosed Valley as Loyalty Fortress

Signature MoveMove Before Being Overwhelmed

Cornerstone MoveHostile Raid to Swallow the Whole Animal

Capital StrategyWall Street Listing as Credibility Weapon

Signature MovePocket Recorder on the Nightstand

Signature MoveFactory Floor at Five AM, Never the Office

Signature MoveAct From Day One Instead of Planning How to Plan

Cornerstone MoveBreak Big Problems Into Small Executable Pieces

Decision FrameworkWrite It Out Then Tear Up the Paper

Competitive AdvantageCompete on Smarts Not Capital

Cornerstone MoveSell While Building Instead of Perfect-Then-Launch

Strategic PatternString Together Small Advances Not Lottery Jackpots

Signature MoveMake Yourself Indispensable Through Extra Hours and Skills

Strategic PatternCross-Branding Everything Bloomberg

Signature MoveChange When You Want To Not When Goaded

Risk DoctrineParanoid Competitor Vigilance

Operating PrincipleBottom Ten Percent Upgrade Responsibility

Signature MoveThrow Everyone Into Deep End and Watch Who Emerges

Cornerstone MoveSlip In While Giants Fight

Competitive AdvantageBoom-Sensing Before the Crowd

Signature MoveRelated-Party Deals as Control Ratchet

Decision FrameworkUnsentimental Exit Discipline

Signature MoveHire the Best Then Stay Out of the Way

Capital StrategyCorporate Structure as Weapon

Signature MovePrivate Until Capital Forces Public

Signature MoveArt Buying While Empires Burn

Strategic PatternCrash as Shopping Spree

Identity & CultureLoyalty Through Generosity Not Hierarchy

Cornerstone MoveDebt Down, Equity Up, Control Tighter

Primary Evidence

"In 1978, Diane Keaton appeared at the Oscar ceremony to receive the award for Best Actress for Annie Hall by Woody Allen, wearing an Armani dress. Two years later, Richard Gere in American Gigolo wears only Armani clothes. Milan is then inaugurated as a fashion city, on par with Paris, London, and New York. "We were in the midst of recovery after the dark period of the Seventies," Armani tells me in an interview for this book. "They were optimistic years, carefree, which saw the fashion system established and the first appearance of words, objects, and habits that still today determine our daily lives." Among the objects that change their "intended use," there are precisely the protagonists of our story: glasses."

Source:Leonardo Del Vecchio

"Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of life is just showing up. I believe that. You can never have complete mastery over your existence. You can't choose the advantages you start out with, and you certainly can't pick your genetic intelligence level. But you can control how hard you work."

Source:Bloomberg by Bloomberg

"As that noted business commentator Woody Allen once observed, the lion might lie down with the lamb but the lamb won’t get much sleep."

Source:Kerry Stokes

Appears In Volumes

Leonardo Del Vecchio Bloomberg by Bloomberg Kerry Stokes