Competitive Advantage Tip ...

Conventional wisdom says that to beat your competitors, you need to one-up them: if they have four features, you need five (or fifteen, or twenty- five) ... So what could you do instead? Do less than your competitors to beat them: Solve the simple problems and leave the hairy, difficult, nasty problems to the competition ... instead of one-upping, try one-downing ... instead of outdoing, try underdoing.

[Thank you, Jason Fried & David Hansson]

Venture Start-up Rule of Thumb

If you're not better, don't bother!

John F. Kennedy Rule of Thumb

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

Napoleon Boneparte Rule of Thumb

Never interrupt you enemy when he's making a mistake!

Aneurin Bevan Rule of Thumb

We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road ... they get run over.

Red Queen Rule of Thumb

It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place ... if you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!

Jim Jindrick Rule of Thumb

Move first, move fast.

Jim Jindrick Rule of Thumb

In the long run, your most important competitive advantage is your brand.

Jim Jindrick Rule of Thumb

If we don't do it, will we care when our competitor does?

Samuel Clemens Rule of Thumb

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Ralph Maughan Rules of Thumb

Try to get the deer carcass out of the woods the same day it is killed ... it helps to place the gut pile on a tarp and drag it away from the carcass ... if that is not possible, hang meat 10 feet off the ground ... you should leave clothes, human scent, tarps, etc. to deter carnivores from scavenging your meat ... when returning to your kill, approach the carcass carefully and view it safely from a distance ... carnivores especially bears may be close by and might attempt to defend the carcass ... some bears, wolves, coyotes and other scavengers may venture into campsites if they smell meat or other foods ... place your game pole down wind of your camp and make sure the meat is secured 10 feet off the ground and 3 feet from a tree ... bears and wolves may eat carcasses hung within reach.

Walter Lippman Rule of Thumb

Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.

Paul Biegler Rule of Thumb

Alright, the cat's out of the bag ... it's fair game for me to chase it!

Kim - Mauborgne Rule of Thumb

Value innovation is a new way of thinking about executing strategy that results in the creation of a blue ocean and a break from the competition.

Kenneth A. Sawka Rule of Thumb

Anticipating behavior of competitors can help a company sharpen its focus and respond strategically when it is actually challenged.

Pankaj Ghemawat Rule of Thumb

For outstanding performance, a company has to beat the competition ... the trouble is that the competition has heard the same message.

Bob Carter Rule of Thumb

Try to irrelevantize your competition.

The Tony - Paul YouTube Rule of Thumb

Passion pays, sex sells, weird works!

Thomas L. Friedman Rule of Thumb

The average Joe has to become something special, specialized, synthesizing ... the adaptable Joe!

Jerry Garcia Rule of Thumb

You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best ... you want to be considered the only ones who do what you do!