One of the simplest ways to think about profits is something called the value stack. Graphically, it looks like 3 Legos stacked on top of each other. The value stack looks simple, but it is crazy useful. It helps to visualize marketing, strategy, and pricing. You will see if used often in this specialization.

In the digital world we live in, it's easy to forget that products take a long journey to get to us. Whenever you see a truck, train, plane, delivery van, retail store, or package = that's the supply chain. "Process flows" are a simple tool to chronologically visualize how the products get designed, manufactured, and distributed. For example, a comfortable pair of blue jeans might travel 10,000 km as it gets transformed from raw materials (cotton) into the final product.

All businesses need to decide "what do we want to be when we grow up?" There are advantages to being vertically integrated (doing a lot of the activities yourself) and also times when it's smarter to outsource non-core things to others.

The goal of MBE (Mastering Business Essentials) is to make you a better (and more confident) decision maker. This will include the top 150+ business frameworks to think about strategy, marketing, finance, and operational problems. Hoping these tools, skills, and practice will help with your career success.