The trap of the fast follow

The fast follow is a sensible strategy – avoiding the cost and risk of being first. But it’s dangerous if it’s your main play. When you copy the leader, others do, too. You feel you’re going after the incumbent, but you find yourself competing with multiple clones.

More detrimentally, you skip the hard, valuable work of learning something deep — the kind of expertise that’s hard to replicate. Copycatting teaches you how to clone, but not how to invent, to create.

Competing on price is a race to the bottom. Fast follow might get you noticed, but it can just as easily get you killed.