The MILES Framework of Unfair Advantages

An Unfair Advantage is a condition, asset, or circumstance that puts you in a favorable position.

That’s the definition shared in an aptly titled book I return to often: The Unfair Advantage by Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba .

The most recently popular version of unfair advantage we tend to go to in pop culture is the idea of a “nepo baby,“ starting from a TikTok trend a few years ago to Vulture’s An All But Definitive Guide to the Hollywood Nepo-Verse to as recent as Michelle Beadle’s ironic criticism yesterday of Bronny James’ NBA debut as “manufactured history.” As such, we generally frame unfair advantages as negative, something to scoff at at best or to justify our own shortcomings at worst.

What I appreciate about Ali’s and Kubba’s framing of unfair advantages is that they democratize the idea and use it to empower.

“We all have unfair advantages,” they comment. “Your Unfair Advantages can’t easily be copied or bought. Your set of Unfair Advantages is unique to you.”

They prompt: “What do I personally have going for me that few other people do?”

To that, they suggest a framework I think about often. They call it the MILES Framework:

• Money: the capital you have (or can easily come across)
• Intelligence/Insight: book smarts, social/emotional intelligence, creativity, etc.
• Location/Luck: being in the right place at the right time
• Education/Expertise: formal schooling as well as self-learning
• Status: your network, connections, personal brand, etc.

In any relatively competitive situation, we tend to rely on an unfair advantage to help us win. We rely on demonstrating our Expertise in portfolios when trying to get a job. We bring all of our Intelligence to bear when taking a test and trying to get a good grade. We pay more Money if we can to valet instead of parking 12 blocks away.

But most people rely on only one unfair advantage at a time. The real wins come when you stack them.

Nepo babies succeed through a combination of unfair advantages: Status + Location.

Ali and Kubba describe the stacking effect:

Unfair advantages build one on top of another and have a snowballing effect. They don’t just add together; they often multiply together… the more unfair advantages you have, the more you are likely to accrue. The key is to start identifying and developing your own unfair advantages as soon as possible, no matter your age.

When I teach designers how to make portfolios, I’m really suggesting that they stack as many unfair advantages as they have. Your work being excellent is required, and it isn’t enough. Lots of people have excellent work. It’s an advantage but it’s not a unique advantage, because many people can possess it too. You have a much higher chance of getting a job if:

• Your work is excellent and you can hire a developer to build you a custom portfolio (Expertise + Money)
• Your work is excellent and you have a robust blog (Expertise + Intelligence/Insight)
• Your work is excellent and you bump into the hiring manager at a conference (Expertise + Location)
• Your work is excellent and you’ve worked with the design director at your last job (Expertise + Status)

And if your work is excellent and you can hire a developer to build you a custom portfolio and you have a robust blog and you bump into the hiring manager at a conference and you’ve worked with the design director at your last job?

I hope you can see how that puts you head and shoulders above every other candidate.

What are your unfair advantages? How can you stack them to help you win?

Reply (or DM me) and tell me, especially if you don’t get many opportunities to brag about yourself. I’d love to hear it, and I’ll reply back with a few words of encouragement to cheer you on!

—Dan