← Back to Skills Marketplace
7 Powers
by
golfzero01
· GitHub ↗
· v1.0.0
· MIT-0
125
Downloads
0
Stars
1
Active Installs
1
Versions
Install in OpenClaw
/install 7-powers
Description
Hamilton Helmer's strategic framework for achieving sustainable competitive advantage through seven distinct power types. Use when analyzing business strateg...
README (SKILL.md)
7 Powers Strategic Framework
Apply Hamilton Helmer's framework: Power = Benefit (improved cash flow) + Barrier (prevents competitive arbitrage). Without both, advantage is temporary.
The Seven Powers by Lifecycle Phase
Origination (pre-PMF):
- Counter-positioning — new model would cannibalize incumbents' existing business
- Cornered Resource — preferential access to scarce resource (IP, talent, regulatory)
Takeoff (rapid growth post-PMF):
- Scale Economics — per-unit cost decreases with volume faster than competitors can match
- Network Economics — product value increases as more users join
- Switching Costs — customers face significant cost (money, time, risk) to leave
Stability (mature):
- Branding — pricing power from emotional connection beyond rational attributes
- Process Power — embedded organizational capabilities competitors can't replicate
Process
- Identify lifecycle phase — Origination → Takeoff → Stability
- List benefits the business currently has
- For each benefit, test the barrier: "What prevents competitors from copying this?"
- Map to available Powers for the current phase
- Prioritize building Powers that create both benefit AND barrier now
- Flag anti-patterns — benefits without barriers, wrong-phase Power pursuit, easily-eroded barriers
Quick Diagnostic Questions
| Power | Key Question |
|---|---|
| Scale Economics | Does cost-per-unit drop meaningfully as we grow? |
| Network Economics | Does each new user make the product better for existing users? |
| Counter-positioning | Would adopting our model hurt incumbents' current revenue? |
| Switching Costs | How painful (time, money, risk) is it for customers to leave? |
| Branding | Can we charge premium beyond rational product attributes? |
| Cornered Resource | Do we have access to something competitors literally cannot get? |
| Process Power | Can competitors observe but not replicate how we do things? |
Detailed Reference
For full examples, anti-patterns, and related frameworks: read references/powers-detail.md
Usage Guidance
This skill is an instruction-only reference for applying the '7 Powers' strategy framework and does not ask for credentials or install anything. It's safe from a technical-privilege perspective, but remember: it's advisory business guidance — validate recommendations against your specific data and consult subject-matter experts (legal, financial, or market analysts) before making high-stakes decisions.
Capability Analysis
Type: OpenClaw Skill
Name: 7-powers
Version: 1.0.0
The skill bundle is a purely informational implementation of Hamilton Helmer's '7 Powers' strategic framework. It contains no executable code, network requests, or instructions that attempt to exfiltrate data or manipulate the agent's core behavior beyond its stated purpose of business strategy analysis.
Capability Assessment
Purpose & Capability
The skill's name, description, and included content all match: it provides a framework for analyzing competitive advantage. It does not request unrelated credentials, binaries, or access.
Instruction Scope
SKILL.md and the detailed reference stay within the scope of business-strategy analysis. The runtime instructions describe how to apply the framework and reference a bundled local document; they do not instruct reading unrelated files, contacting external endpoints, or accessing credentials.
Install Mechanism
No install spec and no code files — instruction-only — so nothing is downloaded or written to disk by the skill itself.
Credentials
The skill declares no required environment variables, credentials, or config paths. There are no environment accesses in the instructions.
Persistence & Privilege
always is false and the skill is user-invocable (normal). disable-model-invocation is false (agent can call it autonomously), which is the platform default and acceptable here given the skill's low-risk scope.
How to Use
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install 7-powers - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/7-powers - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
Version History
v1.0.0
7-powers 1.0.0 – Initial release:
- Introduces Hamilton Helmer’s 7 Powers framework for sustainable competitive advantage.
- Provides step-by-step guidance to identify, assess, and prioritize business “powers” based on company lifecycle phase.
- Lists detailed criteria and diagnostic questions for each power: Scale Economics, Network Economics, Switching Costs, Branding, Counter-positioning, Cornered Resource, Process Power.
- Includes triggers for analyzing business strategy and investment defensibility.
- Adds anti-patterns checklist to avoid common strategic missteps.
Metadata
Frequently Asked Questions
What is 7 Powers?
Hamilton Helmer's strategic framework for achieving sustainable competitive advantage through seven distinct power types. Use when analyzing business strateg... It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 125 downloads so far.
How do I install 7 Powers?
Run "/install 7-powers" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is 7 Powers free?
Yes, 7 Powers is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does 7 Powers support?
7 Powers is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created 7 Powers?
It is built and maintained by golfzero01 (@golfzero01); the current version is v1.0.0.
More Skills