One-Size-Fits-All Or One-Off?

Some businesses run on very standardized, one-size-fits-all products and services. They control for costs and pursue volume to have an advantage. Their incentive is for all of the square pegs to perfectly fit into all of the square holes with no deviation.

Other businesses run on highly customized, one-off type products and services. They are (or least the good ones are) cost-conscious, but more importantly, they’re extremely experience-conscious. They cut all of their pegs to fit into their desired holes.

Standardized businesses solve for average. Everything has to serve whatever moves the most volume through the pipe. Usually, the bigger the business the more focused on average they’ll be. Outliers, one-offs, and customization are not friends of these businesses.

Specialty business solve for the anecdotal. Everything aims to serve whatever the best experience is for each client relationship. Usually the more successful the business the more focused on creating anecdotes they’ll be. Custom and personalized work is the friend of these businesses.

It’s important to know if we work for an average or anecdotal business, and crucial to know if we’re building towards an average or anecdotal future.Trying to be one way inside of the other will constantly feel like swimming upstream. Conversely, when we get the alignment right, we’ll know it by how fast we’re moving forward.