The failure of most businesses stems from their inability to determine why they exist. What are they trying to achieve? Most businesses talk about their competitive advantages or unique selling points, but what they call a competitive advantage is vague and can hardly be understood. Essentially, a competitive advantage is how they gain superiority over rivals using pricing, features, marketing, and different attributes.

Being competitive means you are focused on being the best. It is a narrow scope that leads nowhere. Talking about purpose and meeting people’s real needs excludes us from using the term competitive advantage, as it implies and encourages a process that serves no other purpose but to trick people.

Many companies have destroyed their businesses out of securing and protecting their competitive advantages even though they were unsure of what set them apart from the crowd. Ultimately, profit maximization is the number one goal and decisions are always expressed in financial terms.

WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE?

Does an entrepreneur desire to make money or an impact? Answering this question determines the source of inspiration for the entrepreneur. The key difference between a good and a bad business is how people easily identify the business purpose, which is the purpose of the entrepreneur. Most entrepreneurs’ bottom line is how they make money, which is undoubtedly essential for any business. People do not live to eat; they eat to live. What is the grand purpose? Successful and great entrepreneurs focus on the impact they want to make and make money out of enhancing this positive impact for people.

They strive to do great things. Leading companies do not have competitive advantages, they have leading ones. Finding a true leading advantage is how business leaders demonstrate entrepreneurship and leadership in action, not in words. What is your leading advantage that is not related to competitiveness? This is the right question to ask since it sums up the purpose of the business and its core values.