Jim McElgunn writes brilliant articles, including this one on competitive advantage:

“The trap never fails. Jaynie Smith invites the roomful of CEOs at her workshop on competitive advantage to write the answer to this question: “What’s the No. 1 reason I should do business with you rather than your competitors?” Then she asks those who wrote “Good customer service” to stand up. Next are those who wrote “quality,” then “reputation,” then “knowledgeable staff.” By now, half the CEOs are on their feet.

When Smith gets to the tenth advantage on her list, virtually every CEO is standing. They’re starting to look sheepish as the point of the exercise dawns on them: how can you claim a competitive advantage that’s the same as everyone else’s? ”