5 Prompts to Outperform Your Competitors by Thinking Bigger

In the competitive landscape of project management and aerospace, success hinges on our ability to think beyond the ordinary. Comparison is a trap that can limit our potential. Instead, we need to think big, much like the giants of our industry. Let's explore five powerful ChatGPT prompts designed to help us outshine our competitors by embracing a broader vision and bolder strategies.

1. Benchmark Bigger

In the early days of Apple, Steve Jobs set his sights on Microsoft, a much larger company, to drive Apple's growth. This strategic choice fostered a sense of ambition and equality. We, too, should aim to compete against industry giants. Identify potential aspirational rivals and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. Positioning ourselves against these larger entities can elevate our company's ambition and strategic focus, inspiring us to think bigger and innovate more boldly.

Prompt: "Help me identify potential industry giants I could compete against. My business is [describe your business and target market]. Based on this information, suggest large, established companies that could serve as aspirational rivals. Analyze their strengths and weaknesses compared to mine. Explain how positioning my company against this company could elevate my company's ambition and strategic focus."

2. Double Down

There's an 80/20 rule at play in every successful business: 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. Identifying this crucial 20% is key. Dive into your data to pinpoint what drives your most significant results, whether it's signups, repeat visitors, or loyal fans. Once identified, double down on these effective strategies. This focused approach allows us to work smart while competitors spread themselves too thin.

Prompt: "Acting as a business analyst, help me intensify the most effective aspects of my business. Recently, my results (e.g., signups, repeat visitors, or loyal fans) have come from [insert data or describe sources of positive results]. Ask questions to analyze these results and the factors contributing to success. Based on this analysis, run an 80/20 analysis to suggest one channel I should experiment with by doubling down. Provide a list of 10 daily actions to take in order to double down on this channel."

3. Be More Specific

Understanding our ideal customer profile in great detail is essential for creating targeted and compelling marketing messages. While competitors may cast a wide net, we can capture a specific market segment by being precise in our messaging. By knowing our customers' preferences, fears, and desires, we can tailor our approach to resonate deeply with them.

Prompt: "Start a conversation where you play a marketer and I play the role of our target audience member, who we will call [choose a name]. This person is [describe your ideal customer avatar in detail]. Your role is to find out more about this person so my company can be more specific in creating marketing messaging and building products. Ask questions to dig deeper into their preferences, fears, and desires. When I say STOP, provide a summary of this person and suggest new insights for more specific messaging."

4. Play Your Ace Cards

Every business has unique strengths—our ace cards—that can win over customers. These might be innovative processes, unique expertise, or a particular company culture. Identifying and leveraging these strengths can differentiate us from competitors, even if we lack their financial or market reach.

Prompt: "Ask me a series of probing questions, delivered one by one in a back-and-forth dialogue, to identify the unique ace cards of me and my company. Act as a jovial American business guru, encouraging me to share my strengths. The goal is to understand the gifts I am not using that I should be leveraging."

5. Uncover New Sources of Customers

A scarcity mindset can limit our growth. Instead of worrying about competitors, we should explore untapped customer bases. Potential customers exist beyond our immediate geography or usual social media platforms. By broadening our perspective, we can discover new and unconventional sources of leads.

Prompt: "Create an inspiring written description of me at my laptop, running my company, with new customers flying at me from all directions. Describe the scene in great detail, including comical, exaggerated descriptions of what is happening. Using what you know about my company so far, suggest where these customers are coming from, and add some new sources in there. Help me discover new sources of leads for my company that seem wacky and out there but may be worth considering."

Thinking Bigger for Greater Success

Comparing ourselves to other companies limits our ambition. Instead, let's benchmark against giants, double down on our strengths, understand our customers in depth, leverage our unique assets, and explore new customer sources. By thinking bigger, we can chart a path to unparalleled success and truly outshine our competitors.