Time Core · Market Timing · Module

The window

How long the opening lasts and what closes it — because an opening with no estimated duration is treated as permanent.

The idea

How it works

Openings are created by something: a regulatory change, a technology becoming available, an incumbent’s difficulty. Whatever created it will eventually be matched, resolved or copied.

The useful comparison is between how long the window lasts and how long the organisation needs. Where the second exceeds the first, entering is a decision to arrive late.

Working with it

In practice

  1. 01

    Name what created the opening

    The specific change. Without it the window cannot be estimated at all.

  2. 02

    Estimate how long before it closes

    Roughly. A rough estimate beats treating it as permanent, which is the default.

  3. 03

    Compare with your own lead time

    How long to be ready. Where that exceeds the window, the decision is already made.

  4. 04

    Watch for early closure

    A competitor moving, a regulation clarified, an incumbent responding. Windows close faster than they open.

One level in

The components of the window

A component is something that exists afterwards which did not exist before — a deliverable or a mechanism, not an intention.

  1. The opening

    What created the window.

    Learn
  2. The duration

    How long it is expected to last, and what closes it.

    Learn
  3. The lead time

    How long the organisation needs to be ready.

    Learn

Compare the window with your own lead time. Where yours is longer, the decision has already been made.