I’ve found this model useful in my thinking so many times. Also known as the Buying Hierarchy, it’s a model that illustrates a common evolution — though not perfect nor universal — in products and markets where an original innovation provides a performance or functionality benefit over what others can provide. As a result they can charge more as no one else does it.

When others come to deliver that too, then the focus for the customer can move to which delivers the most reliable quality. When the reliability is the same from different providers then we’ll choose the one that is more convenient.

Only once all else is equal does the lowest price option become the winning one. At this stage you’re selling a commodity where people could choose to get the same thing, just as easily, for the same quality in several places.

There’s a business to be made at each stage, but it’s sensible to know where you’re competing.

The original model is from Windermere Associates and widely shared by Clayton Christensen in The Innovator’s Dilemma.

The customer value chain

With primary colours - red, blue and yellow - secondary colours, made by mixing the primaries - orange, purple and green - and complementary colours - from the opposites on the colour wheel - red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple.

It’s fair to say there’s a lot more to colour than this basic wheel. I will try to get back to it.

The basic colour wheel

The browse line is a distinctive line below which you don’t tend to see leaves or branches in places with ground animals, like deer, that enjoy eating leaves or branches.

Browse lines are basically caused by animals eating as high as they can reach. When everything below has been eaten, what's left behind can be a strikingly flat line of leaves at the base of the foliage.

Except for where there are giraffes or elephants where trees don’t stand much of a chance, even spiky ones.

This drawing is based on the beautiful Richmond Park in South West London which has a large number of old oaks and large herds of deer that leave a uniform underline to the canopy across the park.

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The browse line