Competitive advantage
Morgan Housel argues that the only sustainable sources of competitive advantage a business (or solo-preneur) can leverage are:
failing more (and faster) than your competition
learning faster than your competition
waiting longer than your competition
communicating more effectively than your competition
or, empathizing more deeply with your customers
What he doesn’t mention is any of the tips, tricks, hacks, or shortcuts that many companies and people invest in all the time, to short-circuit their success (if only until their competition catches up, and applies the same tactic).
That’s probably because once those techniques are ubiquitous - as in: used by everyone - they’re no longer a competitive advantage. They’re just something that everyone (in an industry) does because they think it’s going to help them succeed.
As Morgan points out, “everything else - intelligence, design, insight – gets smashed to pieces by competitors who are almost certainly as smart as you” —because they are. Knowledge has its limits.
The best way to gain a competitive advantage is to invest in things your competitors aren’t willing to invest in. Things that are challenging and difficult, and that take time to pay off.
Caring more. Failing faster. Learning all that you can.
Doing your best possible work instead of settling for the best you can do.
And waiting—patiently—for your effort to pay off, even if it takes you far longer than want it to.