Don’t Copy—Create: Differentiation and Cost Leadership in Action

Every sustainable success story can be traced back to one sharpened principle: winning means being unmistakably different or unmatchably efficient. In business, these approaches are called differentiation and cost leadership, and while the labels sound academic, the logic applies everywhere—school projects, sports, art, or even managing your household.

Consider two local sandwich shops. One focuses on offering the cheapest sandwiches in town, using bulk ingredients and streamlined operations to keep costs rock bottom. The other curates unusual flavors and artisan breads, charging extra but delivering an experience customers can’t get anywhere else. Both are viable, but the key is that each picked one lane and mastered it. Trying to be everything to everyone just makes you forgettable—or unprofitable, with middling value to users.

In behavioral terms, trying to do both invites split focus and eventually mediocrity. Competitive advantage, as Michael Porter defines it, comes from either doing what others can’t (differentiation) or doing what others do at a lower cost (cost leadership)—but not both. Smart strategy clarifies your lane and invests all available energy into widening the gap between you and the next-best choice.

If you want to stand out (or streamline), list what your audience actually values from you—maybe it’s speed, quality, personality, or price. Then decide: will you amp up that uniqueness, making it so good people will pay more, or will you work to deliver the essentials at a price no one can match? Pick one lever today, and reshape your next week around it. Don’t try to blend the two; disciplined focus will get you further.