The Disruptor isn’t about disruption for its own sake. It’s about recognising when the rules no longer reflect reality and having the confidence to question them.

This role challenges assumptions that once worked but now quietly limit progress. Not recklessly, but deliberately. Because momentum rarely comes from playing yesterday’s game better.

The Challenge: Defining your Competitive Advantage

When being “good” isn’t enough anymore.

Most SMEs I meet aren’t broken, they’re just blending in.

They have solid products, loyal customers, teams that care, and yet growth feels harder than it should.

That’s usually not a capability problem, it’s a differentiation problem.

What’s really going on

Most businesses think competition means “people who sell something similar”.

In reality, you’re competing with:

• alternatives

• substitutes

• inertia

• and every other place your customer could spend their money

If you’re not clearly different, you’re just another option.

What I see all the time

Businesses quietly drift into discounting, copying competitors and chasing every opportunity.

Not because it’s smart, but because they’re not clear what they’re meant to be famous for or at times have lost a bit of confidence.

Differentiation isn’t a marketing exercise, it’s a commercial one!

A better way to think about competitive advantage

Competitive advantage isn’t about being louder or cheaper.

It’s about being the first choice for a specific group of customers.

That comes from:

• how you make them feel, how easy you make their lives and how well you solve something they care about.

• What core values do you share with your customer?

That’s what builds loyalty, and protects margin.

A simple example

Two cafés on the same street, offering the same quality of coffee.

Business #1 runs offers and fights for footfall. Business #2 becomes part of people’s routine, remembering names, knowing preferred choices, hosting local events, and partnering with nearby businesses.

Business #1 competes on price. Business #2 builds habit, loyalty and margin.

That’s differentiation in action.

Two small moves that create advantage

1. Ask your best customers why they choose you. Not what you think they may choose but what do they actually say - they will probably surprise you!

2. Identify what you under-sell. What do you do brilliantly that feels “normal” to you but isn’t to them?

That’s usually where your edge lives.

A final thought

You don’t need a bigger brand, you need a clearer differentiation.

Clarity turns insight into action, and action into growth that lasts.

Where is your business most distinctive right now?

I hope this newsletter has given you some thoughts and ideas to accelerate or build your momentum.

I’d genuinely like to hear your perspective, please feel free to share your thoughts, challenge my thinking, or add your own experiences, I’d love to build the momentum with you.

Next time - The Executioner: The operator who turns intent into action, and plans into progress.

How to align teams so strategy actually lands.