Two men were in Africa running from a Lion. One stopped to change into his running shoes. The other said "that won't help you outrun the Lion". "I don't need to outrun the Lion" said the man " I just need to outrun you".

This marvelous little story is all about the nature of competition. For brands to win they need to be clear about who they're competing with and then make sure they beat them.

And winning is all about knowing your strengths and taking advantage of others weaknesses. Winners know this instinctively. Yes, they are often focussed, they work hard, they learn, they watch their competition but most importantly they know their strengths and weaknesses.

So how come so many brands don't. They don't seem to know what they are good at and so they resort to copying their competition rather than beating their competition.

To beat the Lion you need to be first to put on the running shoes. It's no use being second.