Page 75 · Module 03, Know Your Market · this screen continues that page
All 108 frameworksPorter's Five Forces
Understand the true profitability and power dynamics of your industry
The prompt
Copy & paste readyLabelsReplace theseSwap the role below
Pro tip, from the book
The most overlooked force is Threat of Substitutes. Customers don't just compare you to competitors, they compare you to doing nothing, doing it manually, or using a completely different category. Ask AI specifically: 'What are the non-obvious substitutes for my product that I might be underestimating?'
Who should run this prompt
Module role profileWho should read your competitive landscape? Every market looks different depending on where you are standing. A market researcher sees data. A competitor's strategist sees opportunity. A customer sees none of your positioning — only their own problem. Use this page to choose the right lens before drawing any conclusions about the market you operate in.
Choose any role to drop it into the prompt above. Only the highlighted opening clause changes — the rest of the prompt stays exactly as printed.
◆◆◆◆◆ → ◆ seniority, board level down to specialist◈ outside the organisation
How to make any role sharper
- Add years of experience: "...with 15 years in enterprise SaaS" produces different depth than just the title.
- Add what they care most about: "You care most about [X]" shapes every word of the output.
- Add their communication style: "Be direct. Flag risks first. No jargon." changes the tone entirely.
Use this when
The problem it solvesYou want to understand why some businesses in your industry are profitable and others aren't or you're deciding whether to enter or exit a market and need a rigorous structural analysis.
How the framework works
From the printed pageDeveloped by Michael Porter at Harvard Business School in 1979, the Five Forces model maps the structural forces that determine industry profitability: Competitive Rivalry (intensity of competition), Threat of New Entrants (how easy is it to enter?), Threat of Substitutes (what else could customers use?), Bargaining Power of Buyers (how much power do customers have?), Bargaining Power of Suppliers (how much power do your suppliers have?). The collective strength of these forces determines the long-run profit potential of an industry. Porter's insight was that profitability is not random it is structural. A brilliant strategy in a structurally weak industry will always underperform a mediocre strategy in a structurally strong one.
The method, in four moves
Do these in orderAssess each force on a scale of Low, Medium, or High intensity.
Identify which force is most dangerous to your specific position.
Look for forces you can influence through strategic action, not all forces are fixed.
Use the output to decide where to build your moat. Five Forces maps the industry you are in today, not the one you are building toward. Analysing the wrong industry boundary is the most common mistake when applying this framework.
Where the framework comes from
Michael Porter, Harvard Business School — Competitive Strategy, 1979
Pairs well with
As printed with this frameworkModule 03 — Know Your Market
See your competitive landscape clearly before you move.
10 frameworks, printed on pages 70–89.
When this page changes, your copy of the book does not have to.
The book prints the framework. This page keeps it — and keeps the prompt current, because prompting technique moves faster than print does. When it moves, this page is rewritten and the code in your copy keeps pointing at it. No second edition, no replacement purchase, no account.
If something here looks wrong — a prompt that does not match its framework, a figure that reads oddly — tell Raphy. That correction reaches every printed copy at once.
Copying is free. An account keeps them.
Nothing on this page is behind a login and nothing ever will be. Save any prompt to your own list, pick up on another device, and send a colleague a link with your name on it. No card, no trial, no paywall on the prompts themselves.