How Real Competitive Advantages Are Built (and Why Most Companies Can’t Copy Them)

True competitive advantages are like icebergs. You only see the surface.

What makes them powerful is everything hidden below: the culture, processes, values, and trust that took years to build.

That’s why copying a successful business rarely works. You don’t see the rituals, the decisions, the sacrifices made behind the scenes.

In the HBR example, the fitness brand didn’t just create a simpler gym model. They built an operating system that worked (and was innovative at that time):

• 24/7 locations for convenience

• No contracts for flexibility

• Streamlined equipment and access

• Staff that cared about their members

But most importantly they built trust. With their members. With their employees. With their community.

That’s strategic fit at work. It’s not just what you do. It’s how all of it connects.

How are you connecting the pieces of your business?

In my latest video, I dive into some of the traps of spreadsheet strategy that hinder long-term growth and how to build a lasting business.

Startups, corporates, it doesn’t matter. I've seen great ideas crash from not thinking a few moves ahead. That’s why I built the Straightforward Strategy Blueprint, a FREE template so your idea doesn’t become another could-have-been. Get it here.

Keep building, keep going 🚀