They went after a veteran:
When a big US bicycle brand went after a small bike shop in Calgary owned by veteran Dan Richter for the use of a word in its name, Canada got mad. So did the cycling community.
It didn’t end well for the big US company:
The president of the companyhad to fly to Calgary with a personal apology in order to appease a lot of irate people.
Bad for the megabrand; but a great victory for the little guy.
People don’t like bullies:
Whether or not the bigger company means to be a bully, increasingly, action against a smaller player will incite a reaction from the public. And that trend is only likely to grow.
We are moving to a more collaborative age.
The information era has profoundly changed what we know and how we engage with the world. In fact, “People are better informed today than the richest billionaire was 20 years ago.”
Mega-shift coming through:
People no longer want to work or live in a dog eat dog world when we can live in one where we create shared value. Smarter companies know it and are at least trying to move towards that goal.
Those who prefer to be adversarial will ultimately be left behind, out of step with publics they serve.
It is one of the most satisfying narratives in the human storytelling collection.
Because most of us think of ourselves as a David in a world of Goliaths.
We want a world that is fair:
We know it isn’t but we want it to be.
And we believe that our belief is a step towards making it so.
We also believe that the David’s of this world work harder.
Like we do.
And we want to believe that hard work can pay off.
But does David actually have the upper hand?
In his book David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell says “maybe.”
Goliath may have had the strength and been the odds on favourite. But David completely changed the game and, in so doing, easily defeated Golaith.
To win, David must break the rules:
In fact, Gladwell contends, the David’s of the world often have the advantage if they refuse to play by the standard playbook.
The underdog may lack the skills or strength necessary to fight the game as it is. He will fail if he plays by the rules.
Smart money’s on David:
But a David exploits opportunities that a Goliath doesn’t even see. And when he throws the rules out and makes up his own, the odds are very much on David.
But let’s keep that between us, shall we? I mean, why ruin a perfectly good story.
Susan McLennan
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