December, 2012
ISBN: 9781624884702
The Opening
The Competitive Herd
BE DiFFERENT or be dead
Act 1 – Plan to Execute
Act 2 – BE the ONLY One
Act 3 – Think Experiences
Act 4 – Focus on your Fans
Act 5 – Dazzle
Act 6 – YOU! Little BIG Things
An Invitation
Shout-Outs
Key Sources
About Roy
Some Critical Praise on Roy’s Work
This book is my message to Leaders, who want to create sustainable success for their organization; who want to build something special that will be honored by their customers and loved by their employees.
The challenge facing a Leader in today’s highly volatile economy is formidable. It is literally to create an organization to Stand-Out NOT Fit-In.
Companies that fail to break away from The Competitive Herd and establish themselves as Unique, Distinctive and Remarkable to their Fans fade away and eventually die.
My Dead or Dying list contains once very famous brands that have either passed away, or are struggling with a very bleak outlook: Nortel, Research in Motion, Sears Canada, HP, Yellow Pages, Blockbuster Video and Nokia to mention only a few.
BE DiFFERENT or be dead IS a matter of life or death to an organization in a time where customer demands are ‘outrageous’, technology changes by the moment and competitive market dynamics cannot be predicted.
Competition, regardless of the industry, is increasing with blazing speed. Fuelled by disruptions caused by the internet and hard-technology innovation, the number of competitors entering ANY space is increasing at a breathless rate.
You would think that in the face of relentless competitive pressure, organizations would get more proficient at carving out a differentiated position in their market. Creating a Value Proposition that is crystal clear and unique.
But, it is not happening. In fact the opposite is occurring.
Un-differentiation is the norm.
Business is infatuated with copying. Best in Class and Best of Breed are targets for comparison. Benchmarking is the key driver of ‘innovation’.
Follow the Leader is played with the belief that somehow a Stand-Out competitive claim will evolve. It just does not happen.
Products and Services end up on most organizations’ infatuation list. Me-too capabilities are promulgated in the market with the hope and prayer that a miracle will happen and THEIR solution will end up being the winner.
Product features and benefits are stressed as the panacea to the customer’s wants and desires.
Mass markets are catered to, driven by a one-size-fits-all marketing mentality. Product corners are rounded, believing that incremental changes will make the product appeal to more people. Problem is, this strategy results in the product appealing to no one.
Businesses rush to offer lower prices than their competition. Everyone is in this game to a degree. It seems to be all about a race to the bottom on price for The Herd.
The Bottom line… The world is burning with a growing competitive flame yet organizations are NOT very good at establishing a clear, relevant and unique claim that clearly distinguishes them from their competitors; that makes them Stand-Out from everyone else.
What’s the solution?
If The Herd is thinking copying, products and services, features and benefits, mass fit-in marketing and price, the right long term strategy is to BE DiFFERENT, to Stand-Out from the Herd.
How to Stand-Out? Deliver VALUE that is:
- RELEVANT (something that people really CARE about), and
- UNIQUE (something that ONLY you provide)
The end-game is to create an organization that consistently creates Distinction, Uniqueness, Remarkability, Gaspworthiness, Indispensability, Memorability and Unforgettability in the market.
THESE are the key strategic concepts that need to be more influential in how we create VALUE in organizations.