What is a strategy and why do we care?

Strategy is competing to be unique and to gain sustainable competitive advantage over the competition
Strategy is a plan to create value (for customers, employees, suppliers)
Strategy could determine if will succeed or fail

Resouces:

Henry Mintzberg Five P's of Strategy

Plan. A deliberate and concious course of action or guidelines made in advance to deal with a strategic situation. For example, a strategic plan to enter specific market or region and how steps identified on how to achieve it.

Ploy. A some kind of attempt to mislead rivals and competitors to make unwise decision and action. For example making public statements and expressing intention that is not genuine. This can be dropping prices, threatening legal action and filing patents.

Pattern. A demonstration of consistent actions and activities overtime even if its not necessarily planned. For example, offerring life time service warranty for many years though the company has not really put much thought on this. Company may continue or enhance this to gain strategic advantage. Often called as Realized Strategy where as Strategy as Plan as Intentended Strategy.

Position. Positioning the organization in environment or among its competitors. For example, being cheapest, being on hight end or luxury market, having most service centers, specialized in a niche group of customers and rated best in customer service. Tools: PEST Analysis, Value Chain Analysis, Porters Diamond Model
Perspective. Creating shared perspective of how inernal organization wih all its employees views itself. If position is looking externally, perspective is looking internally. For example, Apple "think different" to create culture and personality on making best products in mosyt innovative way.

Resources:

https://bigsynthesis.com/understandingaerospace/index.php/16-did-boeing-trick-airbus-into-the-a380-with-the-sonic-cruiser/
https://www.mindtools.com/a1snnzo/mintzbergs-5-ps-of-strategy
https://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/dstools/mintzbergs-5-ps-for-strategy/
Power, Strategy, and the Workplace - Big Think / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYZuJ4HW3ek
3 game theory tactics, explained / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsLaI4jDftA

A mathematical theory that tries to explains how people interact and approach strategic situations. Its decision making under conditions of uncertainty over period of time.
Zero sum game. One party gonna win while another lose. Aka as competitive situation.
Mutual cooperation. What outcome could be good for both parties.
Poker. How to extract the most money when you have strong hand. How to minimize your loses to a minimum when you have a weak hand.
Sunk Cost Fallacy. When you feel you have invested so much to reach a point and even if you have strong information to stop, you still decided to pugh through all the way to the end. Examples like abadoning a book you no longer enjoyed reading or dropping out of PhD when you have lost interest in taking it.
Minimax Strategy. Minimizing your maximum loses is considered most effective approach when you have super sophisticated opponent.