Porter Competitive Strategy Skills
Turn competitive strategy from abstract theory into structured analysis.
12 executable skills + 1 orchestrator extracted from Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy — the foundational text on industry analysis and competitive positioning. Every skill was sense-checked against the original book via NotebookLM. Every sub-factor, checklist, and decision tree comes from Porter's own language, not summaries or interpretations.
Ask your agent to "analyze this industry" and get a structured five forces assessment with 32 sub-factors rated. Ask "what move should we make?" and get a commitment framework with retaliation predictions. Ask "are we stuck in the middle?" and get a diagnostic checklist with organizational requirements you're missing.
Get started
/orchestrate-porter-strategy
The orchestrator detects what you're asking and routes to the right skill(s). Or invoke any skill directly:
/analyze-five-forces
/profile-competitor
/select-generic-strategy
The 12 skills
Tier 1 — Entry points (no dependencies)
| Skill | What it does | Porter source |
|---|
/analyze-five-forces | Assess industry structure across 32 sub-factors (8 entry barriers, 8 rivalry drivers, 7 buyer power factors, 6 supplier power factors, 3 substitute indicators), identify governing forces, rate overall profit potential | Ch 1 |
/profile-competitor | Build a four-component competitor profile (future goals, assumptions, current strategy, capabilities), generate a response profile predicting satisfaction, likely moves, vulnerabilities, and retaliation triggers | Ch 3 |
/map-strategic-groups | Plot competitors across 13 strategic dimensions, select optimal axes, assess mobility barriers between groups, analyze per-group rivalry and bargaining power differences | Ch 7 |
/diagnose-industry-type | Classify an industry as emerging, fragmented, transitioning to maturity, or declining using Porter's 14 evolutionary processes, then route to the appropriate industry-type strategy skill | Ch 8–12 |
Tier 2 — Build on Tier 1 outputs
| Skill | What it does | Porter source |
|---|
/select-generic-strategy | Evaluate cost leadership, differentiation, and focus against your situation. Full requirements tables (skills, org arrangements, control systems), risk profiles, and a stuck-in-the-middle diagnostic | Ch 2 |
/read-market-signals | Interpret competitor actions using Porter's 11-type signal taxonomy. Classify bluff vs. commitment, decode cross-parries and fighting brands, analyze historical behavior patterns | Ch 4 |
/analyze-market-entry | Go/no-go entry analysis with barrier cost estimation, 7 generic entry mechanisms, incumbent retaliation modeling, sequenced entry assessment, and acquisition framework | Ch 16 |
/strategize-fragmented-industry | Porter's 5-step process for fragmented industries. 11 fragmentation causes with overcomability assessment, 9 coping strategies, consolidation vs. cope recommendation | Ch 9 |
/strategize-emerging-industry | Scenario-based forecasting, shape vs. adapt decision, pioneer vs. follower timing, 8 structural characteristics, shifting barrier analysis | Ch 10 |
/strategize-declining-industry | End-game strategy selection using the 2x2 matrix (industry structure vs. firm strengths). 4 strategies (Leadership, Niche, Harvest, Divest) with hospitability assessment and exit barrier analysis | Ch 12 |
Tier 3 — Requires competitor profile + strategy selection
| Skill | What it does | Porter source |
|---|
/design-competitive-move | Design offensive or defensive moves. Cooperative vs. threatening classification, mixed motives exploitation, commitment credibility framework, focal points, deny-the-base defense | Ch 5 |
/audit-strategy-consistency | Test a strategy against Porter's 12 consistency checks across internal consistency, environmental fit, resource fit, and communication/implementation | Intro |
Orchestrator
| Skill | What it does |
|---|
/orchestrate-porter-strategy | Detect intent, route to the right skill(s), chain outputs, accumulate context. 5 pre-built workflow shortcuts for common analyses |
Pick your scenario
"How attractive is this industry?"
/analyze-five-forces
Walks through all 5 forces with every sub-factor Porter identifies. Produces a rated assessment with the governing force highlighted and strategic implications.
"What will our competitor do next?"
/profile-competitor
Builds a four-component profile, detects blind spots via assumption analysis, and predicts responses to your potential moves.
