a single source, nothing corroborates it

Do the thing rivals think is absurd

A defensible position is usually several expensive decisions that only work in combination, and the press coverage arrives because competitors consider them ridiculous. A shoe retailer paid return postage for up to a year, let support staff do things like send a customer a pizza, and built the culture that allowed it, which together made buying shoes unseen credible and reached a billion dollars a year before its tenth birthday. Anything cheap enough for a rival to copy will not be written about either.

The method

1. 01

   Build the moat out of several expensive decisions that only work together, and expect the press coverage that comes from doing something rivals find laughable.

What it returned

• 364

  Zappos combined free return postage for up to 364 days, support staff empowered to do things like send a customer pizza, and a culture that let them; the combination made buying shoes unseen credible and reached $1bn of annual revenue before its tenth birthday.

Sources

• What makes a strategy greatJason Cohen · longform.asmartbear.com · Leveraged · 2023-08-13