In this episode of the Hidden in Plain Sight series, Tom and Mary explore how the Ability to Win scorecard helps companies uncover competitive blind spots that seem obvious only after they’ve been exposed. The discussion starts with a smoking-cessation company that initially compared itself only with direct competitors—until “quitting cold turkey” was added and emerged as the strongest alternative from the customer’s perspective. From there, they examine how Intel may have focused too narrowly on technical performance while Nvidia anticipated the need for a broader AI ecosystem, and how Salesforce beat Siebel by appealing to benefits beyond those valued by technical buyers alone. The conversation closes by showing why Ability to Win often needs to be evaluated by customer segment, because different customers can value very different things.

Key Takeaways

• Your real competitors are the alternatives customers consider—not just the companies on your traditional competitive list. Looking through the customer’s eyes can reveal indirect competitors that are far more important than the “usual suspects.”
• Being strong at today’s capabilities does not guarantee tomorrow’s success. Companies need to identify what customers will value in the future and then build, buy, partner, or invest to strengthen the capabilities required to deliver it.
• There may not be one universal Ability to Win. A company can be poorly positioned for a risk-averse segment but exceptionally strong with a performance-driven segment, making segmentation critical to deciding where resources should go.

Quotes

“People confuse being good with being good enough to win.”

“I feel like the ability to win is a picture of the customer’s brain.”

“You have to take the cold shower of choosing the right competitors—not just the ones you think you can beat.”

The episode shows how disciplined competitive thinking can expose overlooked competitors, missing capabilities, and high-potential customer segments that were there all along—but hidden by an inside-out view of the market.