GuidesHard-to-copy competitive advantage: where should a small business start?
Distinguish differentiation from competitive advantage and choose capabilities using customer evidence, replication difficulty and profitability.
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18 resultsGuides
GuidesA competitor cuts prices by 20%: should you match or hold your price?
How to assess a competitor’s price cut: compare equivalent offers, calculate contribution, run a limited test and define stop conditions. Includes an illustrative calculation.
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GuidesA 90-day plan to build competitive advantage: choose one promise and deliver it
A 90-day SME roadmap: choose a capability, establish a baseline, run a limited experiment and standardise what creates customer value.
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GuidesWhen customers say “they are cheaper”: how to retain them beyond discounts
How to respond when customers compare competitor prices: identify the real concern, demonstrate value, limit incentives and measure outcomes by customer group. Includes a sample conversation.
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GuidesMake or buy: do not turn the SUNHOUSE lesson into a rush to build a factory
A make-or-buy framework for SMEs comparing total costs, quality, volume, resources and switching flexibility, with an illustrative cost threshold.
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Case studiesSUNHOUSE: how to compete with a bigger, stronger rival
How SUNHOUSE changed its cost structure to overcome a competitive disadvantage, plus four questions for building an advantage rivals cannot easily copy.
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Case studiesNgô Á Quân: from reporter to Longfor billionaire
How Wu Yajun built Longfor from her home-buying experience, and how her wealth ranking changed after her 2012 divorce, viewed through product development and ownership governance.
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LessonsTaking Vietnamese spices global: Lessons from Dh Foods
From Nguyễn Trung Dũng and Dh Foods’ experience, explore tastes, usage, and distribution channels when bringing Vietnamese products to the world.
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Case studiesStartup negotiations with buyers: lessons from Dh Foods
An unmet buyer need led Dh Foods to develop a new spice range. Lessons in customer listening, negotiation leverage and disciplined commitments.
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LessonsTrung Nguyên: 30 years from a 2.8 m² coffee roaster to a big dream
From its 1996 beginnings in Buôn Ma Thuột, Trung Nguyên's story offers lessons in vision, resources and persistence in brand building.
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AnalysisFrom technology to transport: which industries produce the most US billionaires?
Finance, technology and traditional industries in the Forbes 400 offer lessons on market demand, competitive advantage and scalability.
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AnalysisInner Scorecard là gì?A lesson from Charlie Munger
Warren Buffett described Charlie Munger as judging himself by internal standards. What is an Inner Scorecard, and how can managers apply it?
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Case studiesFrom four hotpot tables to HaidilaoHow did Zhang Yong build an advantage through service?
Zhang Yong started without knowing how to cook Sichuan hotpot, and his first restaurant had only four tables. How Haidilao turned customer dedication into a scalable operating system is a more valuable lesson than brand size alone.
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Case studiesElon Musk stays in a trailer in MemphisWhen speed matters more than comfort
Elon Musk says he is staying in an Airstream in Memphis as AI infrastructure expands. The noteworthy issue is not the contrast between wealth and simple living, but how an executive chooses to be present during a critical phase.
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LessonsThe “Big Fish in a Small Pond” strategyWinning through a niche market
How small businesses choose a valuable niche, build specialized advantages, establish leadership and expand from a proven foundation.
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LessonsBầu Đức and HAGL:Recovering after trillion-dong debts
The memorable part of Bầu Đức’s story is not just the fall from the peak, but the willingness to downsize, restructure and begin again when the old model no longer fits.
Read moreLessonsStarting again before sixty:Seven lessons from the Dh Foods CEO
Nguyễn Trung Dũng’s journey of starting over shows that experience matters only when translated into discipline in capital, products, and distribution.
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AnalysisA market-reading framework for businesspeople
How to turn market developments into management questions, lessons and testable actions.
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