2-Week Convergence Audit
A step-by-step implementation process to analyze convergence in your industry and make strategic decisions.
A step-by-step implementation process to analyze convergence in your industry and make strategic decisions. Requires 10-15 hours over two weeks, ideally split across strategy, product, and operations leaders.
When to Use 2-Week Convergence Audit
Run annually as a strategic planning exercise, or when facing significant industry shifts, new competitive threats, or pressure to adopt industry 'best practices'.
How to Apply
Identify Practices (Days 1-2)
List 15-20 significant business practices across technology, pricing, distribution, product features, operations, and organization structure
Outputs
- Practice inventory with adoption dates and rationales
Assess Convergence Evidence (Days 3-4)
For each practice, gather data on competitor adoption patterns, timing, and performance correlation
Questions to Ask
- How many competitors use this practice?
- Did they adopt independently or sequentially?
- Does it correlate with performance?
Outputs
- Classification: Convergence (green) / Copying (yellow) / Fad (red) / Path-dependent (blue)
Identify Selection Pressures (Day 5)
For convergent practices, identify and rate the driving selection pressure (1-5 scale)
Outputs
- Selection pressure ratings for each convergent practice
Prioritize Convergence Gaps (Days 6-7)
Identify where you should converge but haven't (convergence debt)
Outputs
- Ranked list of convergence gaps with effort/risk estimates
Identify Differentiation Opportunities (Days 8-9)
Find practices where deliberate differentiation could create advantage
Outputs
- Differentiation candidates with value proposition assessment
Create Action Plan (Day 10)
Synthesize into four categories: Converge immediately, Converge strategically, Differentiate deliberately, Resist convergence
Outputs
- Prioritized action plan with owners and timelines