Hi there -
Here is this week’s “1 principle, 2 strategies, and 3 actionable tactics” for running lean…
1 Universal Principle
“Develop your unfair advantage strategy early.”
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This week, I took on real unfair advantages on my YouTube channel.
Key takeaways:
- Most founders cite weak or bad unfair advantages.
- Real unfair advantages have to be earned.
- Counter-positioning is one unfair advantage every founder should start with.
If you missed it, I’d recommend watching it or reviewing it first:
In today’s issue, I’m going to delve deeper into the counter-positioning strategy and what to do after.
Counter-positioning involves developing a business model that the incumbent (status quo) cannot copy due to damage to their existing business.
2 Underlying Strategies at Play
I. Embrace obscurity to buy time.
Startups need alone time to find their footing. Some adopt stealth for this reason. But it’s hard to selectively share an idea without it leaking, so founders go into full-on stealth mode. That is a bad strategy:
Stealth without continuous customer learning is a recipe for building something nobody wants.
This is why counter-positioning is so powerful. The incumbents can see what you’re doing but ignore you anyway.
Similar concepts that share the same core message:
- Blue-ocean strategy
- Theory of Disruptive Innovation
- Judo strategy
II. Use this time to develop more moats.
If you are successful, incumbents do eventually wake up and respond. Counter-positioning alone is usually not enough to maintain your position.
This is an example of what happens when a sleeping giant wakes up:
Even Netflix and Airbnb relied on follow-on unfair advantages, like scale economies, network effects, and brand power, to maintain their position.
3 Actionable Tactics
I. Start with counter-positioning.
This is still a legitimate place to start for all the arguments above.
II. Identify your follow-on unfair advantage candidates.
Use the chart below to pencil in possible unfair advantages to develop:
FYI: I'm developing a new Fortifying Defensibility module in my Business Model Design course. You'll get the drop in January if you're already a student.
If you're not yet a student and would like to enroll, click here.
III. Map your unfair advantage story timeline.
Unfair advantages take time to develop and require deliberate attention. Share your unfair advantage strategy with your core and extended team.
Live and breathe it until you become it.
That’s all for today. See you next week.
Ash
Author of Running Lean and creator of Lean Canvas