Which is the better strategy - leading or following? Well, of course, it depends…
If there are problems with a competitor’s new product that have not been resolved and you can address them speedily, then it’s better to learn from their experience.
A dramatic example of this was the introduction in 1952 by the British aero manufacturer, De Haviland, of the world’s first commercial jet airliner, the Comet. All seemed well for a while, but then Comets started to fall out of the sky with significant loss of life. The problem, they discovered in due course, was stress fractures resulting from the square shape of the windows.
Boeing’s introduction of their 707s a few years later completely solved that problem and the Boeing 707 went on to dominate world markets for a generation.
So if you plan to be an effective fast-follower, it’s good to set yourselves up to study competitors’ failures, as well as their successes, and to see if you can fix their problems and outflank them.
If there are problems with a competitor’s new product that have not been resolved and you can address them speedily, then it’s better to learn from their experience.
A dramatic example of this was the introduction in 1952 by the British aero manufacturer, De Haviland, of the world’s first commercial jet airliner, the Comet. All seemed well for a while, but then Comets started to fall out of the sky with significant loss of life. The problem, they discovered in due course, was stress fractures resulting from the square shape of the windows.
Boeing’s introduction of their 707s a few years later completely solved that problem and the Boeing 707 went on to dominate world markets for a generation.
So if you plan to be an effective fast-follower, it’s good to set yourselves up to study competitors’ failures, as well as their successes, and to see if you can fix their problems and outflank them.
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