I recently completed a masterclass from Howard Schultz on business leadership and was struck with one key topic about competition. He nailed it perfectly, and I just picked up all my notes to bring this blog for all of you. I am sure you will love it.
Strategy and execution should not be determined by what your competitors are doing. Your competitors should inform you of what the game board looks like, but they should not dictate your next move.
Howard Schultz
Know your competition
Be aware. Understand in what areas are they stronger than you. What distinguishes your product or services in the marketplace? How do you compare in terms of features, benefits, price, and convenience? How can you establish a deeper wedge between yourself and your competitors?
You have to be in control, and no one else should tell you what to do
Competition should not lead you. It’s your business, you understand the business at its core, and you should be deciding where you want to take your products/business. Please do not get carried away by competition and their moves.
Innovate and disrupt
Break the rules. R&D is vital, and you need to innovate constantly. Invest ahead of the growth curve with products, people, and processes. What is your company’s core business? How can you innovate without straying too far from your core? How else can your company create disruption in the marketplace? What are the upcoming possibilities you see on the horizon?
Ensure your next level of innovation matches the founding principles of the company, so you don’t create something that dilutes the core brand and business.
Howard Schultz
Differentiate with benefits and features
Bring in a significant differentiator. Don’t just copy or don’t just bring in marginal improvements, but be bold to bring in disruptive differentiator. Bring in differentiation by looking at adjacent businesses to your core business, innovation, R&D, expanding the boundaries where you operate.
A competitor should not be in the room when your strategy is determined
Competitors should not define your next moves. You need to work on improving your core business with differentiation, innovation and Howard warns you that you need to cannibalize your core business by expanding it to a wide array of products and services; else, you will be cannibalized by competition.
If you don’t cannibalize your business yourself, I can promise you your competitors, small and large, are going to cannibalize it.
Howard Schultz
Mangesh is Product Leader
Full Bio here – https://mangesh.bhamre.in
