AI Blocks › Plan your strategy
Size up an industry before you enter it
Give it the industry. Get a five forces read, a counter-position, a first market and a call.
Size up an industry before you enter it is a free AI workflow for the job "Plan your strategy". It guides your AI through several skills in order, passing each step's output to the next.
Free · No account · Made by AI Blocks · Level: advanced · Thinking: high
What it does
People enter industries because the market is big. They find out later that nobody in it makes money, that the incumbents can match any move, and that the first customers they chose were the hardest to win. The decision was made on the size of the prize, not on the structure of the fight. This workflow reads the structure first. It applies Michael Porter's five forces: who has the power, buyers or suppliers, how easy it is to enter, what substitutes exist and how hard the rivals fight. It tests which of Hamilton Helmer's seven powers you could realistically build. It looks for a counter-position: a way of operating that incumbents cannot copy without hurting themselves. It picks the first small market to win, in Peter Thiel's manner. Then it makes a go or no-go call from all of it, with what would change the call.
You give it
- The industry and what you would offer
- What you know about the rivals, the buyers and the suppliers
- Your strengths, your money and your time
- A list of competitors, if you have one (optional)
- Brand brain (optional)
- Competitors (optional)
- Plan (optional)
You get
- A five forces read of the industry, with where the profit sits
- A test of which powers you could build and which you could not
- A counter-position incumbents cannot copy, or the finding that there is none
- A first small market to win, and a go or no-go call with what would change it
Use it when
- You are weighing a move into a new industry or category.
- The market is big and you suspect that is why everyone is in it.
- You want a plan that names the first customers and the power you would hold.
Steps
- Five forces industry checker: Name your industry and buyers. Get a five-force read of where profit comes from and a score out of 100.
- Business power tester: Describe your business and rivals. Get a test of whether your edge lasts and which of seven powers to build next.
- Competitive business model planner: Paste your market leader and your idea. Get a new business model the leader would lose money by copying, with the sum.
- First market picker: Paste your product and who could use it. Get a ranked short list of small first markets and the one to own.
- Go or no-go launch checker: Paste your plan. Get a go or no-go against the book's six faults and three halfway checks.
How to use it
- Download the handoff pack. It's a zip with HANDOFF.md and every skill file this workflow uses.
- Give the folder to Claude (in Claude Code, or as files in a Claude Project) and say "Follow HANDOFF.md".
- Paste the industry, your offer and what you know. It reads the forces and tests the powers.
- Read the counter-position. If there is none, take the finding seriously.
- Read the call. If it is go, start with the first market it names.