the path is well worn.
you can see how they have done it.
profit, success and a formula that looks replicable.
it doesn’t matter the business, but there is so little originality.
everyone wants to be like everyone else.
perhaps it’s in our genes, but we seem unable to think for ourselves.
just imagine a landscape was there was no market leader simply because the market was not mature enough.
when you come to make a decision, it is easy to feel a sense of fatigue: every path is so well worn; and when people talk about genuine innovation, it is almost an impossible task. everything has already been done, or your idea is merely a derivative of something else; or you don’t have the stomach to fight the system, which requires that you justify anything out of the norm.
if you truly want to differentiate your offering, stop looking around for ideas.
create your own.
find a thinking space where you can go native.
don’t pay lip service to the idea of thinking outside the box (whatever that means!), and let everyone have a say.
but at some stage, you are going to have to back one or two really radical ideas.
it could be technologically driven, it could be in the standards for the business or something that hasn’t yet been invented.
there is immense power in the dynamic of people and not just within your business.
if you have spent any time in the digital space, you will see an increasing number of suppliers are happy to put out some pretty glitchy products in beta.
why?
because they need your feedback to refine, get better and outsmart their competition.
just imagine, risk aside, you were prepared to deliver a beta version of your best idea. not only would this free you from the (sometime) tyranny of aiming for perfection in everything you do, but the feedback to develop something even better would be immense.
failure is not part of our psyche but surely shipping something is better than talking endlessly about the next iterative development of your moribund service?
i have lost count of the number of times an idea has been discussed but it never saw the light of day.
being the leader is great but just think of all those businesses who have bitten the dust. too many to even list.
follow your own path.
and don’t worry about failure.
Ready, Fire, Aim.