Why David and Goliath?

This past Monday I shared that I recently finished Malcolm Gladwell's book, David and Goliath.  I did not recommend it, but that is because it is not a typical business book.  You may want to buy it anyway.

Here are the key things I got from Gladwell's analysis of "Underdogs, Misfits, and The Art of Battling Giants:"

1. (Gladwell)  (1) Much of what we consider valuable in our world is based on the greatness and beauty resulting from overcoming overwhelming odds;  and (2) We consistently misinterpret our weaknesses and strengths as we face our greatest challenges.
2. Underdogs win more than they lose.  How?  They compete by disregarding protocol so they can compete based on their strengths.
3. Underdogs are told they are wrong.  Their courage comes from living through tough times and being belittled, yet they emerge with an intense drive to do what they believe is right.

As a High Traditional in our Talent Assessments, and someone who's been told I am wrong many times, I relate to David.

Therefore the question is (for me and for you):  What am I doing differently that my opponents cannot match?

The parts of this book that I enjoyed helped me clarify that our company is on the right track.  It actually gave me a laser focus that is EXCITING:

1. We gave 50% of the equity and half of the net profits of MANAGEtoWIN to EmancipateME, a nonprofit dedicated to help local nonprofits eliminate the travesty of human trafficking.  No other HR/employee performance management software company will do that.
2. We focus on ConnectWise and Autotask partners.  We have a unique value to provide these organizations because of my 32 years in the industry.  These companies are too small for other HR/employee performance management software companies to pursue, or understand.
3. We have some things that we are going to do with our software and services that are revolutionary because of #1 and #2 above.  Even in a very crowded HR/employee performance management software market, we can battle the giants for reasonable market share...  and more importantly, meaningful work.

The question for you:  How do you break the rules to give your company an advantage that is both unfair, and unexpected?

Meeting Idea

Read Gladwell's book, but focus on the chapters that have the most meaning to you.

This process should give you more clarity.  Most likely you will gain even more clarity by discussing your reaction to the book with others, whether that is your team, mentors, or some nut like me.

The bottom line:  The value of this exercise is to identify how to play by a different set of rules (legally and ethically) so that you have an unfair an unexpected advantage against your competitors.