How the Biryulin Cascade Applies to Strategy

In an article on Medium criticizing the idea of synergy as a standalone virtue worth pursuing, Svyatoslav Biryulin outlines a sequence of value creation that centers on customer needs rather than, for example, operational efficiencies. 

• The customer needs you are going to address determine who your target customers are and the customer value you will create to meet those needs.

• The customer value you aim to create determines the assets and processes you need to acquire or develop from scratch.

Synergy, something that is devilishly hard to achieve in the real world, only really matters within an organization. Customer needs are important to them, and your synergy is not their concern. Biryulin’s cascade from needs to customers to value, assets, and processes can help leaders determine whether a particular strategy makes sense. Even if synergy is achieved, it only makes sense if it creates value for customers.