Work (and
compete) to your Differences!
Dr. Nido
Qubein is a modern day “renaissance man”. Immigrating from the Middle East at a
young age, he came to the USA penniless but not without considerable resources,
namely his own drive to succeed! He eventually became a successful
entrepreneur, author, award-winning speaker and currently serves as the
president of High Point University – an institution he has transformed from a
second tier private college to one that has become preeminent. Therefore when I
have the opportunity to hear him speak, I usually pay attention!
One thing
I heard him say recently really got me thinking out loud about competitive
advantage. He said, we should work (and thus compete) to our DIFFERENCES!
Now you have heard me say (if you ever heard me speak) or write, again and
again, that we should work to our strengths versus our weaknesses! I still
believe that but Dr. Qubein presents us with an intriguing strategy.
It is our
DIFFERENCES that help us stand out. It is our DIFFERENCES that separate us from
our competitors. It is our DIFFERENCES that contribute to our value added
proposition. Again, you can see this play out time and time again in the
marketplace. Apple is so competitive because they produce products that look
and function very differently from their competitors. The most successful music
artists are ones that produced a sound and vibe that no ever had before – just think
of Jimmy Hendrix, the Beatles, even Lady Gaga! Again, their strengths were not
in doing what everyone else was doing better,
their success was in doing it differently!
Granted,
it is a logical jump to make that our differences are based upon our strengths (so
I am really not contradicting myself!), but think about the following:
- Are you messaging and highlighting your differences?
- How do your differences differentiate you from others in the same line of work?
- How do you know you are not just doing what everyone else is, just doing it better?
- What are your unique talents, skills, and competencies?
I think
about this a great deal. There are many people out there serving as
professional speakers, trainers, and coaches. What makes me different? Primarily,
it is the fact that I cannot be humorous by script. I prefer to improvise based
on the energy of the audience. People tell me I have a quick wit so my hope is
that skill and gift creates a unique audience experience so each talk or
training is always different.
That is just one example but
what is yours? As always, if I can help you Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT
LOUD, I would love to hear from you. Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud
Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will
send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your
organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to
your organization!
Yours
in Leadership,
Bill
Faulkner
Co-Founder
– Out Loud Strategies
Independent
Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
Email = bill@outloudinc.com
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