Hard times need a plan, based on what-survival?
I was looking through some ‘sage’ advice from McKinsey on managing in a crisis, in really hard times, and one really got me thinking, so I thought I’d share this.
“Use the hard times to concentrate on and strengthen your competitive advantage. If you are confused about this concept, hard times will clarify it.
Competitive advantage has two branches, both growing from the same root. You have a competitive advantage when you take business away from another company at a profit and when your cash costs of doing business are low enough that you survive in hard times.”
This challenged my thinking of competitive advantage but then again hard times certainly do question all our thinking. I always felt it was the uniqueness within, in what you offered, that separates you from your competition. This alters that perspective.