“Mediocrity is a region bound on the north by compromise, on the south by indecision, on the east by past thinking, and on the west by a lack of vision.”
― John Mason, “An Enemy Called Average”
Years ago, three business leaders went hunting in the woods. Before long, one of them pointed to a plump bird in a tree, and all three of them stopped and took aim.
The first fired, missing the bird by a couple of inches to the left. The second fired but also missed a couple of inches to the right. The third put down his gun, exclaiming, "Great shooting, lads. On average, I reckon we got it..."
Average Is The Enemy
Most companies in agriculture are in love with average results, so they employ average strategies.
“We want to be the fastest/cheapest/best.”
This is what the strategist Roger Martin calls "playing to play."
In other words, we want our product or service to be one of the options in an already existing market category.
Every year, hundreds of "new" commercial strategies are implemented by companies in our industry. Many of these are great companies with great products or services.
Yet most of their strategies fail.
Some say this is due to technical difficulties and the inability to translate hype into true value. Some people blame the industry, saying it is opposed to change.
I believe that the problem with our strategies is that they are not built to win. They are built to compete for market share in an existing market with a "better" brand and a "better" product.
Most of what we call "strategic planning" or "marketing" is a giant comparison game.
"We're better than X because our product is faster."
"We're better than X because we're more customer-focused."
But winning companies force a choice, not a comparison. They tell a different story.
Avis didn't compete with Hertz. They told a different story. "We're number two. We try harder."
Diageo didn't try to compete with other beers on how long it took to pour a Guinness. They told a different story. "Good things come to those who wait."
Stella Artois didn't compete on price. They told a different story. "Reassuringly expensive."
These are more than slogans; they are differentiated, story-led strategies built to win with a particular customer who is trying to solve a particular problem.
The best companies take all the advantages of the status quo, the incumbent solution, and flip it to be a weakness. They tell stories that turn liabilities into leadership opportunities.
Tell stories. Do something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers.