One posture per situation
An archetype is a posture the situation calls for — a configuration, not an identity: the selection reads the category's growth stage (M3), its economic value (M4) and the lever you choose, plus the M10 override — not your company's size or position. The same company can hold different postures in different markets, tiers or phases.
How the posture is selected
In Step 2, the growth stage of the category (M3), its economic value (M4) and the revenue lever point to one of the nine archetypes, or to a Strategic Mismatch. The most specific matching row of the selection matrix decides; a row marked "any" applies only where no more specific row does.
| M3 Growth Curve | M4 Economic Value | Acquisition (GET) | Retention (KEEP) | Stimulation (GROW) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Commodity | Strategic Mismatch | Strategic Mismatch | Strategic Mismatch |
| Products | A1 Disruptive Newcomer | Strategic Mismatch | Strategic Mismatch | |
| Services | A9 Category Creator | Strategic Mismatch | Strategic Mismatch | |
| Experience | A9 Category Creator | Strategic Mismatch | Strategic Mismatch | |
| Growth | Commodity | A2 Efficiency Machine | Strategic Mismatch | Strategic Mismatch |
| Products | A1 Disruptive Newcomer | A8 Niche Expert | Strategic Mismatch | |
| Services | A9 Category Creator | A4 Stagnant Leader | Strategic Mismatch | |
| Experience | A9 Category Creator | A7 Scale-Up Guardian | Strategic Mismatch | |
| Maturity | Commodity | A2 Efficiency Machine | A2 Efficiency Machine | A6 Value Harvester |
| Products | A8 Niche Expert | A8 Niche Expert | A8 Niche Expert | |
| Services | A4 Stagnant Leader | A4 Stagnant Leader | A4 Stagnant Leader | |
| Experience | A9 Category Creator | A3 Brand Evangelist | A3 Brand Evangelist | |
| Decline | Commodity | Strategic Mismatch | A2 Efficiency Machine | A6 Value Harvester |
| Products | Strategic Mismatch | A5 Pivot Pioneer | A6 Value Harvester | |
| Services | Strategic Mismatch | A4 Stagnant Leader | A6 Value Harvester | |
| Experience | Strategic Mismatch | A5 Pivot Pioneer | A6 Value Harvester |
If M10's overall Disruption Level is High, this overrides archetype selection in Step 2 to mandate Pivot Pioneer (A5) regardless of M3/M4 combination. The override reflects the strategic reality: high external disruption requires a pivot posture, not the posture the M3/M4/Revenue-Lever matrix would otherwise produce.
Strategic Mismatch
| M3 | M4 | Lever | Why it fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Commodity | Acquisition (GET) | No scale yet; price wars kill the category before it matures. |
| Introduction | any | Retention (KEEP) | Logic Error: Cannot retain a base that doesn't exist yet. |
| Introduction | any | Stimulation (GROW) | Logic Error: Cannot increase ARPU on a zero-base. |
| Growth | Commodity | Retention (KEEP) | Commodity switchers in growth are price-seekers, never loyal. |
| Growth | any | Stimulation (GROW) | Too early to "squeeze" margin; focus on volume/share first. |
| Decline | any | Acquisition (GET) | Capital destruction: Investing in new users in a dying market. |
Recommendation: If you find yourself in a Strategic Mismatch, either:
- Reassess your market lifecycle stage (M3) — you may be more mature or earlier than you think
- Reconsider your economic value model (M4) — perhaps you're not truly a commodity
- Adjust your Step 2 Goal to match market reality