State of Readiness | Alan Michaels; Director of Industry Research at Industry Knowledge Graph

Video Version

About the Podcast

In this episode of State of Readiness, host Joseph Paris speaks with Alan Michaels, founder of the Industry Knowledge Graph, a strategic planning tool built on Michael Porter’s competitive strategy framework. The discussion traces Alan’s multi-decade journey to develop a globally comprehensive, highly granular industry taxonomy and its transformation into a usable, dynamic digital platform.

Alan recalls the pivotal moment in 1986 when, while working in IT at Manufacturers Hanover Bank, he was introduced to Porter’s Competitive Advantage. The structured, recipe-like nature of Porter’s methodology resonated deeply with him, prompting a career pivot toward corporate strategy. Over time, Alan held various strategic roles, including at IBM and in insurance, but ultimately dedicated himself full-time to his ambitious goal: to map the entire global economy by industry, using Porter’s definitions of competitive structure and market forces.

The result, launched in April 2024, is the Industry Knowledge Graph, a platform that classifies the global economy into over 24,000 distinct industries, based on competitive commonalities such as products, buyers, substitutes, and vendors. This granularity far exceeds traditional classifications like NAICS codes. For instance, while NAICS might group all jet aircraft in one industry, Alan’s system separates fighter jets, commercial jets, and blimps into unique segments. Even within food, categories like potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn are treated as different industries based on buyer behavior and competitive factors.

The platform supports top-d