FBC – 244 – What it takes to become a leader

Today we are going to talk about what it takes to become a leader of your market and also how you can actually become one. It's easier than you think…

All the details are in this new episode

So today I wanted to tell you about the discussion that I had with someone about leaders and stuff.

We were talking about what it means to be a leader. And the difference between the leaders on the market and the rest. I mean the kind of sacrifices that they have to do to be leaders. Right. Now a lot of people think that while that person is the leader, they cannot be dethroned. It's some sort of mystical title that people are given. They didn't have to do anything for it.

But here's the thing. In order to become the leader, it takes a lot of work. But then afterwards, once you're the leader, you have to understand that everybody's working to overtake you. So now you have even more work afterwards to, you know, stay in front of the pack. So don't assume that companies like Nike, who are still I mean by far the biggest one in sport, are immovable.

They have to innovate and keep creating stuff and keep creating new trends and stuff like that. Right. So it's not like you're the leader and that's it, your job is done now. Getting to the number one position is hard. Staying there is even harder. Because let's say, for example, you're number 30. Who the hell cares about what number 30 is doing?

People are worried about number one. So that means that, you know, well, you're not leader. Then you have the element of surprise because people are not looking at what you're doing. But once you're the leader, everybody's checking out what you're doing. Everybody's anticipating your next move. And everything they do has one purpose, which is to de-throne. You OK?

So I was trying to get that person to understand that it's not luck that keeps these companies at the top. People are studying you, OK? Staying on top requires a lot of work.

So that was the beginning of the discussion. But then afterwards it moved to something else. Something you have to understand is that if you're not a leader, you're a follower. And by definition, you are always one step behind the leader, right? You only move when the leader is asking you to move.

What it takes to become a leader

So that means that you're always a step behind someone else. So I will actually rely a little bit on the big names to see where the stuff is going. But stuff that's very personal to me and revolves around my philosophy and what I'm good at. I don't really worry about what other people are doing because again, by definition, if you're following someone, you are always behind.

So if your ambition is to you create some sort of a legacy or something, like a trendsetter or something, you will need to find your own path and be the leader in that path instead of following someone. There are leaders on your market. So there may be people who've been there for a while and they know more than you in a specific subject.

Why not branch out. Just create your own branch. You have your own philosophy. Create your own stuff and be the leader in that stuff instead of following and repeating what someone else is doing. It's easier than you think. Because to be honest, there is an infinite number of branches that you can you can actually take.

If there is something you do particularly and people are not necessarily talking about it, then branch out and be a specialist. It's as easy as this. It doesn't have to be something completely different. I just want you to create your own segment of the market and you'll be the pioneer in there.