For decades, business strategy was dominated by the pursuit of "Sustainable Competitive Advantage", the moat that would protect your company from competitors for years on end. Think of Coca-Cola or GE in the twentieth century.
But Rita McGrath, a Columbia teacher, brought a new reality: the sustainable competitive advantage died. Welcome to the era of Transient advantage.
Sailing in the Waves
Today, technology and globalization erode barriers to entry faster than ever. What makes you unique today will be copied tomorrow morning. Companies that try to defend an old advantage for too long end up like Kodak or Blockbuster.
The cycle of transient advantage
The secret now is:
- Identify an opportunity quickly (Launch).
- Exploit it aggressively (Exploitation).
- Divest before it declines (Disengagement).
- Jump to the next wave.
Stability is dangerous. The movement is the new security.