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Seth Godin
Cheating
• JetBlue Airways is cheating. Their low-cost structure,
underused airports, and young, non-union staff give
them an unfair advantage.
• Starbucks is cheating. The coffee bar phenomenon was
invented by them, and now whenever we think coffee,
we think Starbucks.
• Vanguard is cheating. Their low-cost index funds make it
impossible for a full-service broker to compete.
• Amazon.com is cheating. Their free shipping and huge
selection give them an unfair advantage over the
neighborhood store.
• Google is cheating. They learned from the mistakes of the
first-generation portals and they don’t carry the baggage
of their peers.
• Wendy’s is cheating. Their flexibility allows them to introduce
half a dozen salad-based entrees, capturing a
big chunk of the adult market.
• Ducati is cheating. Because they don’t have to make motorcycles
for the entire market, they can specialize in highprofit,
amazing bikes, which sell out every year.
• HBO is cheating. Because they have to program original
shows only one night a week, HBO can focus and
invest and cream the networks.
None of these companies are using the old-fashioned
advertising-based techniques to win. To their entrenched
(but nervous) competitors, these companies appear to be
cheating because they’re not playing by the rules.
Why aren’t you cheating
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