At Cornerstone, we have spent the past year putting emphasis on learning. We have a small library of books to continue our intellectual growth. This past month, I read a book called “David and Goliath” by Malcolm Gladwell. I’m sure many people are familiar with the story of David and Goliath. David, a shepherd, fought the giant, Goliath, to end a war. But what if the classic underdog story isn’t what we think it is?
Goliath intended to fight his opponent hand to hand. In the story Goliath is described as a giant. A huge man that was the pride of his army. David was small and weak. He was only a shepherd and knew he would lose if he fought Goliath in regular combat. So, David did not. He fought Goliath with a rock and a sling. David’s small size and unconventional weapon gave him an advantage that Goliath never saw coming. It was David’s disadvantage that allowed him to exploit Goliath’s weaknesses. In the time of the bible, slingers were a powerful part of an army. They could sling a rock almost as fast as a modern gunshot. It was a deadly skill. David intended to fight Goliath this way. Goliath was laden with armor and his weapons. He could not move fast enough to avoid the rock.
Malcolm Gladwell’s “David and Goliath” is a story about the advantages of disadvantages. It flips the narrative. Instead of believing that because a person had difficulty in their lives they could not succeed, the difficulty made them uniquely qualified for future success. Many times, our biggest challenges seem overwhelming, but by thinking differently or using what others see as disadvantages to our advantage, we can win battles in unexpected ways. Being underestimated can be a powerful advantage.
In our lives, we will experience many “Goliath” obstacles that may seem impossible to overcome. As a small privately held firm, we often compete against large executive search companies. Rather than focus energy on the perceived disadvantages, we embrace our size as our competitive advantage. As individuals, we lean into our unique talents and align our work as a cohesive team of agile owners and entrepreneurs to compete for top talent for our clients. We constantly collaborate, challenge and refine our executive search process to deliver world-class results. And, as we like to say, nobody cares more than us and we do not stop until we get it right!
All of us face David and Goliath obstacles in our personal and professional lives. The next time you find yourself facing a Goliath obstacle, embrace the difficulty as your competitive advantage. You will win battles in unexpected ways!
