Roland on Competition – A single quality is sufficient
Roland Galgoczy, PhD
Critically assessing novel technologies | Asking the right questions | Identifying the right problems | Aggregating & Analysing relevant trends
Oh God, another story.
The Learnings: 1. One small differentiator can give you a large, disproportionate edge in pharma. 2. When you’re the underdog the best way to win is to be a dog.
The Stage: My friend Ovidiu Babos and I play tennis regularly.
The Fight: The man is a force of nature and I willingly face him, risking embarrassment. On the court, we look like what David vs. Goliath would have looked like. He is objectively better than me at every single thing: serve, forehand topspin, stamina, you name it. However, our win percentages are roughly equal, he can’t seriously claim he’s better than me. So, what do I have? Apart from being better looking, I have about a 5% edge in consistency. That’s it. My slow, puny shots make it over the net slightly more often (we’re currently in the process of gathering video analysis of all of the above because I don’t even believe myself without data, except on the better-looking part). I would add that consistency comes at a price: just like my opponent, I run like hell and I’m ready to break every bone in my body just to get that ball – basically a dog.
The Implications: As a consultant, I encounter numerous situations of products and services that operate in highly competitive markets. Maximizing revenue is already difficult but doing it when you’re objectively inferior to some of your competitors across several metrics is even more difficult. I think, however, that one small differentiator can give you a big, disproportionate edge. This can be intrinsic to a molecule, or it can be through marketing, etc. - you can always find an edge! But sometimes when you’re the underdog you have to be willing and able to be a dog.
Disclaimer: I am not suggesting that in 100% of situations, one single quality is sufficient to succeed. Some things carry more weight than others and you must still tick a bunch of boxes. I am also not suggesting that “being a dog” is necessary or desirable in every situation; along those lines I am not suggesting that dogs don’t have other qualities, I love dogs.
Thank you for reading and I always welcome your thoughts.
All the best,
Roland.
Management Accountant at Law Business Research
1 年As in all parts of life consistency is key, and that alone can give you the edge . Not sure what you can do in the better looking department but I’ll need to figure this one out ??. Great post !