This is blog #4 in an 8-blog series about Powerful Answers to 7 important business questions. The series is intended to be an introduction to strategic intuition and planning.

 

Preamble:  Question 3 is about Differential Advantage, also known as Unique Selling Proposition, and about Value Proposition. During the last 30 years numerous experts have advised us of the need for uniqueness and holding a differential advantage over our competitors. Tom Peters, for example, went into detail in his book Thriving on Chaos [1987]. Jay Abraham and many others provide guidance and ideas. However, for most business people at most businesses this is a real challenge. 

 

Differential Advantage: the potential Buyer asks - Why should I buy from these people instead of buying from their competitor…or doing nothing?

 

Value Proposition: the potential Buyer asks - What value do I get when I buy this thing?

 

At the surface it seems it should be easy to answer these questions, However, that is not what we have seen when we talk to hundreds of business people. When it comes to understanding and describing Differential Advantage and Value Proposition, it is appears the grass may be greener on the other side of the street. Often, it is easier to answer the question for another company than it is for our own company.

 

Question 3: What do you do BETTER and DIFFERENT than anyone else?

 

Powerful Answer:  an excerpt from the SWOGG Canada Inc website www.swogg.com

 

We guarantee your order will be delivered RIGHT! ON TIME! OR FREE!

 

Postamble: When we decided to invest in SWOGG we understood the decorated-apparel industry was fraught with over-promising and under-delivering. Examples: (1) corporate golf tournaments would happen before the shirts with logos arrived and (2) children would be wearing white T-shirts for the opening game of their soccer season…all because decorated apparel did not arrive on time. So, in reaction, we created the above statement of difference…a differential advantage.

 

Now, we think it is a powerful statement…but, we are biased.    What do you think?

 

Footnotes: references…

 

The next blog will consider Question 4:

 

This is blog #3 in an 8-blog series about Powerful Answers to 7 important business questions. The series is intended to be an introduction to strategic intuition and planning.

 

Preamble:   Business is about People and Process. Since People design the Process, when you boil it down business is about People. People do only 3 things: good habits, bad habits, and new things. There is a relationship between actions and strengths. I like the way Marcus Buckingham and Tom Rath [former Gallup folks] have written about strengths. While I know this doesn't do justice to what they have written, I summarize their message this way:

 

 

As business leaders, we should understand the Strengths our People possess and we should understand the Values or attributes of character we desire. These combine to become our corporate culture, whether planned or not planned.

 

Question 2: What HUMAN strengths will you use to build your business?

 

Powerful Answer:  an excerpt from Conestoga-Rovers & Associates website, www.craworld.com

 

 

Postamble: Question 2 is around corporate culture. CRA provides other similarly powerful statements that touch human strengths. I selected the mentor statement because it struck one of my chords. It is refreshing to see a company culture committed to mentoring...communicating about it so clearly…and clearly telling people they are responsible. This empowers and emboldens.
           
Footnotes: references… a couple of fellows who have written about their Gallup strengths experiences
Marcus Buckingham - strengthstest.com/strengths-tests/go-put-your-strengths-to-work-access-code
Tom Rath - strengths.gallup.com/110440/About-StrengthsFinder-2.aspx  

 

The next blog will consider Question 3: