Let's use Netflix as an example. Why did it take so long for entertainment companies to offer us a movie rental service, from an open catalog, without having to leave our homes, and, better yet, for a fixed price? Let's be honest, rental stores never had a chance again after Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, founders of Netflix, came up with this idea in 2007.
But what if they had insisted on the initial model of their business, which was just a rental company with the difference of being a delivery service, and a subscription service? Would they have become this worldwide sensation, with huge amounts of their own productions and the ability to set trends? I can't say for sure, but if I had to bet, I would say no.
What this example shows is that there are countless problems crypto email list in our daily lives and, although we are used to dealing with them in the available way, it is not always the best way .
Just because Blockbuster made everyone go to amazing stores, with the smell of popcorn and video games for the kids, while parents spent a lot of time deciding which movies to take home, doesn't mean that this way of doing things is the best and should be permanent. Netflix has proven this to us, and it's no wonder that we see constant news about this company, surpassing major cable TV channels and entertainment giants .
Another example is Apple, which abandoned the idea of producing an infinite range of products, to dedicate itself to building a few of the highest quality and managed, in just 3 years, to surpass market giants that seemed unshakable.
“ In January 2013, Apple’s market capitalization was $500 billion, while Google and Microsoft’s combined market capitalization was $467 billion. Just three years earlier, Microsoft and Google were each more valuable than Apple. ” — Peter Thiel and Blaker Masters, From Zero to One.
People vs. Competition
The most dangerous thing about all this is that in the short 10 years of my career, with more than 200 clients served, I had never heard a conversation about doing "ten times better", but I lost count of how many times I was asked why we were not doing the same as the competition, and I say dangerous, because I believe that companies should focus on people , not on their rivals .
Finally, I would like to leave you with an exercise that I share a lot in meetings.
“Are your business’s differentiators really yours? Or if I put a competitor’s name in front of it, won’t it make any difference to the consumer?” Would you be able to answer me? Below, an excerpt from “From Zero to One” that may help!