Rob at Business Pundit has an interview with Laurence Haughton, co-author of It’s Not The Big That Eat The Small…It’s The Fast That Eat The Slow.
You should read the whole interview, but here’s a taste:
Speed just keeps gaining momentum (as a competitive advantage). Why? Because:
1. Slow costs more. Every minute we can take out of manufacturing time, stocking time, get-to-market time, and customer response time saves us money and makes us money.
2. Speed is the ultimate customer turn on. Everyone is short of time. We hate delays, long lines, out-of-stocks. We love finding what we want and getting back to work (or play) fast. And we’ll pay for speed.
3. Speed is the one advantage that the big competition can’t duplicate easily. Big companies are bureaucratic, dysfunctional, and self-absorbed. They don’t listen, they are slow to change, and they kill momentum and initiative. Don’t copy them.
Rob also has a link to a free webinar that Haughton will be giving on speed as a competitive advantage.