Now that you have specified your playing field, the next question is how do you win the game?
Business is a tough game. Many of the competitors are not known. It is so tough that the chances of own goals are high. You have seen instances where your teammates or staff are a snake in the grass—committing fraud, spending too much time on company internet doing their own social media updates at the expense of the business, using Company resources for personal benefits eg printing coursework on company stationery or doing personal work on company computers, etc you get the gist and most lethal, bringing negative energy to the team thereby leading to team dysfunction. To win, you must configure in a way that you avoid such own goals.
How to win?
As Michael Porter, the great strategic thinker of our time wrote, there are two distinct ways to win: low-cost focus or differentiation focus.
In your chosen segments, how do you see your target customers? The more sophisticated the potential customers in terms of education, income and exposure, the more focus on differentiation you must do. In that case, you will give the best service out there at a premium price.
The case of Apple is a clear pursuit of this strategy. Offer the best service and product, and charge customers who can afford it. This is not a product for the mass market. It is a product for a defined market that can afford and appreciate quality. That is why it bothers Apple less, if at all, about comparative unit sales compared to competitors. Whereas other companies’ strategy is a low-cost phone for the mass market, for Apple that is not the case. The number that worries them is the year on year annual new sales units growth.
How do you plan to win?
As someone in education, you must be the best lecturer out there and ask for a decent salary and perks. Also, as a consultant, be unique and very informed. That is why, when I travel, as I had done, I always look for opportunities for exposure. To see how the best do it. To gain knowledge and exposure— the best teacher there is.
Focus on being the best in your class. Be on the dean’s list. Publish outstanding papers. Have a personal blog. Share your notes there. Ask to be a visiting lecturer at other universities. Have a target of publishing books-annual thought leadership position papers in your expertise field. Be an outlier. And then you can charge a fee for it.
That is how to win. Are you ready to win? Don’t forget to visit my site and buy the board book.
Previously: #Mindspark 7: Where are you playing?
Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, 2020. All rights reserved. You are free to share with appropriate attribution.
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