What is your competitive advantage?
If you don't already know the answer to this, then stop
reading and check out my other articles, as this is not the place to start
developing your advantage.
This article is showing you how to keep and sustain your
competitive advantage in the turbo-boosted business world of today.
Employ a Business
Strategist
Similar to a strategic management position, but a very
specialized field as this person will need to know how to establish strategies
focused on what the customers will want from your industry in the 10 years.
They will be required to perform these types of duties.
1. Monitor and
analyses your competitors, all the time
They will constantly review all your competitors, direct and
indirect to watch for any projected shifts in market position. Skills in
Competitor Intelligence will be required and combined with in-depth industry
knowledge of your products to be able to forecast what the competitors’ changes
will mean for your competitive advantage.
2. Stay current on
all technology advancements
Improvements in technology will have the most disruptive
ability to remove any business competitive advantage so your strategist needs
to be able to research and understand what all the forecasted technology
changes will mean to your business.
3. Survey and listen
to all your customers
Excellent nonverbal and consumer behavior skills will be
required to recognize and understand what the subtle shifts in consumer
behavior will affect your competitive advantage in the immediate and short-term
future.
Imagine if you will, that you will need to have a skilled
employee watching a crystal ball every minute of the day looking for the small
signs that warn your business that you are about to lose your competitive
advantage.
4. Conduct an
in-depth analysis of the components of your advantage
They will be able to deconstruct your competitive advantage
to analyze all the required components. This will enable them to develop
strategies to sustain each of these components into the next 10 years of your
business life.
For example, if qualifications are why your business holds
the advantage, they will look ahead to see what the new qualification will be
and how your business will obtain them first by establishing a professional
training program each year.
If the speed of your production is why you hold an
advantage, they will research all the new technology, worldwide, that could
improve the speed of production and set aside sufficient budget resources to
make that purchase before the equipment is on the general market.
In military terms, they are the advance scouts seeking out
your enemies' weaknesses and makes sure they are always weaker than your
organization by keeping it two steps ahead and free of obstacles seen in the
future of your industry.
The world of business
today is moving fast, technology is outdated by the time you get it home, and
global online communities hold the power where flat earth pricing is now a
standard strategy.
Working in the change management field I have seen
that organizations need to instill a constant changeability in their processes
to ensure survival. Innovation and inspiration is the key to the new world and
I bring the catalyst for change by showing a different perspective on the old
way of thinking.
In effect, David
DeHaven is an agent of change, and once I touch your organization change
has already started.
