The classical definition of ‘advantage’ is a condition that puts one in a favourable position over others. This belief conditions us to perceive characteristics such as size, strength, larger numbers, more money, etc, as indications of being in an advantageous position.
For example, a company with a larger marketing budget would be perceived as being advantaged over its smaller competitors. While this seems logical, history is replete with examples of smaller, nimbler players getting the better of supposedly stronger opponents.
In his new book, David vs Goliath — Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the nature of advantages and disadvantages and how, under some circumstances, each can become its opposite.
The first point that he argues is that any disadvantage should not be taken at face value. Any disadvantage can be changed into an advantage by altering the rules of engagement. In the historical examples of David vs. Goliath or Alexander vs. the Persians, the apparent advantage of size and strength was overcome by faster manoeuvrability, better execution of plans and use of the element of surprise.
In the corporate world, this has lessons for smaller companies pitted against larger competitors — smaller companies should leverage their size to be more innovative, more flexible in their business practices and better aligned to their customer’s needs.
A case in point, Virgin Airlines challenged British Airways by being more innovative and customer-oriented.
The second point that Gladwell talks about is the concept of “desirable disadvantage” — he argues that, at times, setbacks in life actually motivate us to work harder to achieve our objectives. Entrepreneurs who have had setbacks and failures in their early lives tend to get liberated from the fear of failure and are thus willing to try things or take risks which often lead to success. The learning here is that we must not be afraid of failing — rather we should use setbacks as learning experiences and try to improve with each experience.
Ignvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, and William Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett Packard, are some entrepreneurs who struggled with dyslexia in their early stages, yet went on to establish successful businesses.
The third lesson is that, beyond a point, any advantage can turn into a disadvantage. This is especially true of power and wealth, which are enablers up to a certain point, but unlimited power or wealth can actually lead to poorer levels of personal happiness and a lowering of values.
Both in personal as well as corporate life, one must be cognisant of the ‘inverted U-shaped relationship’ between power/wealth and happiness and realise that chasing after power and wealth endlessly is a futile pursuit.
Once a certain level has been reached, it is much more rewarding to ‘Give up and give back’. Most large corporates now set aside a certain percentage of their revenue for CSR activities, which are attempts to give back to society.
In sum, the ability of an individual, team or corporate to overcome supposed ‘disadvantages’ is directly linked to their capacity to think out of the box, to take failures in their stride and to learn from them, and to use their resources efficiently to benefit not just themselves but also the ecosystem that they operate in.
The writer is CEO of AMRB, a Dubai-based research consultancy.
