This document summarizes Stefan Gentz's presentation at the Translation Forum Russia 2014. It discusses strategies for translation businesses, including differentiating oneself in a global marketplace (blue ocean strategy), assessing political, economic, social and technological factors (PEST analysis), and evaluating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). Key points from various experts on strategy and competition are referenced throughout.

1. www.tracom.de • @stefangentz • facebook.com/stefan.gentz
by Stefan Gentz, tracom.de • @StefanGentz
Translation Forum Russia 2014 • 16. – 28. 09. 2014 • Ekaterinburg, Russia • #tfrus
Assessment &
Planning
Strategic
at the »Point of Bifurcation«
GALA Localization Forum
www.tracom.de • @stefangentz • facebook.com/stefan.gentz

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3. @stefangentz at
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4. FIRST THINGS FIRST

5. A BIG THANK YOU FROM
TO THE ORGANIZERS OF
TRANSLATION FORUM RUSSIA 2014

6. ELENA KISLOVA (ЕЛЕНА КИСЛОВА)
PEREVODURAL
BUSINESS BUREAU OF THE ASSOCIATION OF INTERPRETERS
A BIG THANK YOU FROM GALA GLOBAL TO THE ORGANIZERS OF
TRANSLATION FORUM RUSSIA 2014 WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO

7. A BIG THANK YOU FROM
TO THE TFR PROGRAM
COMMITTEE!

8. DEMID TISHIN – ALL CORRECT LANGUAGE SOLUTIONS
SERGE GLADKOFF – LOGRUS
RICHARD BROOKS – K-INTERNATIONAL

9. A BIG THANK YOU FROM
TO ALL CONTENT
LEADERS & SPEAKERS!

12. Client

13. Translator
Client

14. LOCAL RIVALS (IF ANY).
IN A LOCAL MARKET.

15. AND THIS WAS A
COMFORTABLE
SITUATION:

16. WE COULD ALL DO
JUST THE SAME.

17. »HIGH QUALITY
TRANSLATIONS«
»TRUSTED
TRANSLATIONS«
»EXCELLENT
TRANSLATIONS«
»CERTIFIED
TRANSLATIONS«
»PRECISE
TRANSLATIONS«
»PROFESSIONAL
TRANSLATIONS«
»GLOBAL
TRANSLATIONS«

18. BUT THE WORLD
HAS CHANGED

19. GLOBAL RIVALS.
IN A GLOBAL MARKET.
Business 2014

20. WE BUY PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES
NO LONGER »AROUND
THE CORNER«.

21. WE BUY PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES
WHERE WE WANT AND
WHEN WE WANT.

22. WE BUY THEM ON A
GLOBAL MARKETPLACE.

23. BUT MORE IMPORTANT:

24. OUR CUSTOMERS DO
THIS AS WELL!

25. THE CLIENT NEXT DOOR
BUYS YOUR SERVICES
AT THE OTHER END OF
THE WORLD.

26. THIS IS A THREAT FOR
YOUR BUSINESS.

27. BUT IT'S ALSO A
BIG CHANCE:

28. YOU CAN DO THE SAME!

29. BUT:

30. WE SHOULD NO LONGER
ALL DO THE SAME!

31. Michael Porter
Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at The
Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness,
based at the Harvard Business School
Photo: © TED

32. Michael Porter
Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at The
Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, based at the
Harvard Business School
Photo: © TED
»If all you're trying to do
is essentially the same
thing as your rivals, then
it's unlikely that you'll
be very successful.«

33. LET'S TALK ABOUT
SWIMMING …

34. RED
OCEAN

35. RED OCEAN STRATEGY (1)
COMPETE IN
EXISTING MARKETS

36. RED OCEAN STRATEGY (2)
BEAT THE
COMPETITION

37. RED OCEAN STRATEGY (3)
EXPLOIT EXISTING
DEMANDS

38. THE RED OCEAN IS FULL
OF SHARKS.

39. THE RED OCEAN IS FULL
OF SHARKS.
AND BLOOD.

40. WE NEED TO CHANGE!

41. LET'S TRY TO SWIM
INTO THE …

42. BLUE
OCEAN

43. W. CHAN KIM RENÉE MAUBORGNE
University of Michigan Business School
Boston Consulting Group
Insead (Institut Européen
d'Administration des Affaires)

45. BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY

46. BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY (1)
CREATE UNCONTESTED
MARKET SPACE

47. BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY (2)
MAKE THE
COMPETITION
IRRELEVANT

48. BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY (3)
CREATE AND CAPTURE
NEW DEMANDS

49. IT'S NOT ABOUT
»ENTERING NEW
MARKETS«!

50. IT'S ABOUT
»CREATING NEW
MARKETS«!
(AND BE THE FIRST RULER!)

51. Charles Darwin
»The fittest win because they succeed in adapting
themselves best to their environment.«
www.tracom.de • @stefangentz • facebook.com/stefan.gentz

53. WHERE IS THE NORTH POLE?

54. WE NEED A STRATEGY!

55. Michael Porter
»A strategy
delineates
a territory in
which a
company
seeks to be
unique.«

56. BUT:

57. HOW TO FIND A
STRATEGY?

58. AND HOW TO FIND THE
TERRITORY?

59. WE NEED TO FIND OUT
WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS
WANT, RIGHT?

60. LET'S TRY SOMETHING
NEW!

61. WE NEED TO FIND OUT
WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS
DON'T WANT YET!

62. THERE IS AN APP FOR
THAT.

63. 3 MANAGEMENT TOOLS

64. IN THE NEXT MINUTES
WE WILL TALK ABOUT
PEST
5 FORCES
SWOT

65. PEST

66. P = POLITICAL
E = ECONOMIC
S = SOCIAL
T = TECHNOLOGICAL

67. P = POLITICAL
GOVERNEMENT INTERVENTION:
TAX POLICY, LABOR LAW,
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, TRADE
RESTRICTIONS, TARIFFS

68. E = ECONOMIC
MACRO-ECONOMIC FACTORS:
ECONOMIC GROWTH, INTEREST
RATES, EXCHANGE RATES,
INFLATION RATE

69. S = SOCIAL
CULTURAL ASPECTS:
HEALTH CONSCIOUSNESS,
POPULATION GROWTH, AGE
DISTRIBUTION, CAREER
ATTITUDES, NEED FOR SAFETY

70. T = TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECTS:
R&D ACTIVITY, AUTOMATION,
TECHNOLOGY INCENTIVES AND
THE RATE OF TECHNOLOGICAL
CHANGE

71. BY THE WAY:
R & D

72. BY THE WAY:
R & D?

73. R & D
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

74. R & D
RIPOFF & DUPLICATE

75. 5 FORCES

76. BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS
BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS
THREAT OF
SUBSTITUES
THREAT
OF NEW
ENTRANTS
INDUSTRY
RIVALRY

77. SWOT

78. S = STRENGTH
W = WEAKNESSES
O = OPPORTUNITIES
T = THREATS

79. S = STUPID
W = WASTE
O = OF
T = TIME
Richard Brooks

80. WHERE IS YOUR
SWEET SPOT?

81. STRENGHTS
OPPORTUNITIES
WEAKNESSES
THREATS
SWOT

82. STRENGHTS
OPPORTUNITIES
WEAKNESSES
THREATS
SWOT
Highly qualified
translators
Tehnology
Competence
Accounting
Unreliable Clients
New Services
Technical Writing
DTP
Machine Translation
Machine Translation
Strong Competition
Financial Stability
Global Competiton
High sick leave

83. SOME WISDOM …

84. BERTRAND PICCARD – CIRCUMNAVIGATED THE
WORLD IN 19 DAYS IN A HOT AIR BALLOON
Bertrand Piccard (@bertrandpiccard)

85. HOW DOES A HOT AIR BOLLOON CLIMB?

86. »YOU NEED TO DROP BALLAST TO CLIMB.«
Bertrand Piccard (@bertrandpiccard)

87. FINAL
QUOTE

88. Rob Thomas
IBM Vice President, Business Development
»Perspective. Aspiration. Ambition. These are the attributes that
separate those who come to work for a paycheck versus those
who come to work to change the world.
PERSPECTIVE.
ASPIRATION.
AMBITION.

89. @stefangentz at
#tfrus:
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Stefan Gentz