We often hear that competitive advantage is about doing things better than rivals. But what if that framing misses the point?

I am completing a capstone course this semester, and after reading the Harvard Business School note Creating Competitive Advantage, I realized:

Competitive advantage isn’t about being better than rivals—it’s about being valuable to customers.

The real wedge—the one that drives profit and resilience—is between customer willingness to participate and the cost to deliver them value. Rivals matter, yes. But they’re not the center of the strategy. Customers are.

This shift in perspective changes how we lead:

• We stop chasing competitors and start listening to customers.
• We design systems that are hard to replace, not just hard to beat.
• We build value networks, not just market share.

Details matter. When you center your strategy on the humans involved, it makes the tough choices a lot clearer to see.

🔍 What’s one strategic detail you’ve rethought recently?

#Leadership #Strategy #CompetitiveAdvantage #CustomerValue