Yesterday’s email unveiled something interesting: fitting in is like being an square hiding your edge.
Edge: a quality or factor which gives superiority over close rivals. | give an intense or sharp quality to. | the outside limit of an object, area, or surface.
Here’s a definition by John Hagel that approaches the most to what an edge is for indie consultants and creators:
“Edges are powerful sources of business innovation because they are places of potential and friction, where traditional products and practices are no longer adequate to address unmet needs or unexploited potential.”
→ Places for potential and friction
Intentional movement can only happen where there’s friction. There’s a needed grip to be taken and leverage on it.
→ Traditional [products/practices/approaches] is no longer adequate
Best practices (are a trap). The space got saturated with more of the same. A world of average where nobody stands out. And doing what everyone else does adds to the noise.
→ Address unmet needs or unexploited potential
Potential, friction and being untraditional leads to creativity and innovation. They are constraints that feed into a virtuous loop to find new ways to help the people you like get what they want.
We’ll go deeper on how to un-hide your edge. But for now, that’s today’s mail. 🙂
Are you seeing a new edge?
