Who Else Is Doing This?

The most exasperating question asked of those who preach business innovation is “Who else is doing this?” Imagine this question being asked of Thomas Edison. Or Thomas Jefferson.

Those who persist in this query are reflecting the risk aversion that runs through the collective soul of business executives in industries from manufacturing to professional services. It’s human nature to prefer copying over innovating. The urge to copy runs deep in the human psyche. Anthropologists say that early homo sapiens improved their odds of survival by mimicking the successful behaviors of other humans, making imitation one of our most ancient behaviors.

But the responses that served us well in prehistoric times work against our best interests as modern professionals. Simply duplicating the practices of other businesses only keeps us mired in the present. Copying is “Karaoke Capitalism” that directs our limited energy and resources toward avoiding risk instead of pursuing opportunity. 

Best practices don't create the best companies

“Who else is doing this?” The standout businesses owe their success to their ability to answer “No one.” 

What grocer stocks no brand merchandise, has no sales, accepts no coupons, does no advertising, and has no loyalty program? No one — except for Trader Joes, the most profitable grocery store in America. 

What car brand has no dealers, no discounts on their cars, and accepts only online orders? No one — except for Tesla, which created a category that it continues to dominate. 

When the answer to “Who else is doing this?” is “Most other companies,” that should steer us away from — not toward — adopting the same practices. Borrowing best practices doesn’t create the best companies. Best practices are, by definition, past practices. Worse, these collections of conventions rarely add up to a unique, coherent business strategy. Trying to build a best-in-class business by borrowing “best practices” from other companies is like trying to build a high-performance car with the “best” parts from a wide variety of automobile manufacturers. The result would not be a superior car, but rather a dysfunctional piece of machinery, because parts — like practices — must be designed to work together to support a unified whole. Much better to focus on “next practices” — those that will create new forms of value in your organization. 

”We want to lead, we just don’t want to be the first”

Author and consultant Peter Block believes that organizations waste huge amounts of time and energy looking for external validation of their actions. “What other organizations have done this?” reflects the natural need for reassurance, observes Block, but mostly indicates a lack of will. It sets up the confusing dynamic of wanting the company to lead, but not be the first.

Change should not be dependent on someone else changing. Your mission as a business leader is to differentiate, not duplicate. Most businesses have numerous unexplored, undiscovered and undeveloped points of distinction. In one of the classic articles on the subject, authors Ian MacMillan and Rita Gunther McGrath offer this simple summary of business success: “Most profitable strategies are built on differentiation: offering customers something they value that competitors don’t have.” 

By definition, new approaches are likely to have few adopters. That’s the point of progress; someone has to be first.