So, who’s your most dangerous competitor?
Is it the company in your industry that is well funded and steadily increasing market share and has a slight product or service advantage? Or is it the company that is struggling for air, about to slip under for the last time?
Surprisingly, it is often the struggling competitor.
Here’s why…
They are out of options. Doing things the old way is no longer an option. There is no illusion that “doing more of the same, only harder” is going to save them.
So, they have to do something different…
And that is where the danger lies.
They will have to try breaking an industry assumption or paradigm. They will have to think thoughts that neither they nor any other competitor in the space has thought. They will have to look at customer needs through new glasses. And each of those shifts in thinking, in mindset and in action can be the birth of a dramatic breakthrough.
So, don’t celebrate the demise of a competitor too soon. They could soon be your most dangerous competitor.