Why Adaptability is the Best Competitive Advantage
No one can deny that the world has felt upended, uncertain, and unsettling in recent years—for both individuals and businesses alike. Indeed, it can make a person’s head spin just to think about the challenges that we have all had to live through—from the COVID-19 pandemic to political unrest, economic uncertainty, and global conflicts. It has been a lot to make sense of, to say that least.
However, all these things have led me to think about how the best businesses have navigated these trying times—and come out on the other side. It has also caused me to look at how my company, Pitch 5 Productions operates, and how we have been successful.
In this article, I am going to discuss my thoughts on adaptability, which I believe to be the best competitive advantage a company can have.
Keeping Up with the Changing Curve
Businesses that stand the test of time operate like a proverbial chameleon—and they can adapt to the environment they are faced with operating in.
Adapting means to be the right “thing” at the right moment. And that thing can be many things… a product or service, price, convenience, verbal or non-verbal communication, and the like. The “thing” emanates the solution that you can provide as a business, and it must be relevant during a given moment in time; if it is not, then you must figure out how to pivot to embrace whatever disruption you are facing.
Think about this real-world example: Not all companies flailed and/or failed during the pandemic, many simply turned on a dime, rising to the challenge. For instance, Ford Motor Co. practically transformed their auto plants overnight to accommodate the production of PPE—and they were able to do this because their culture as a company has an affinity for design thinking as well as rapid innovation. Conversely, some iconic retailers, like Neiman Marcus, fell into bankruptcy because it didn’t have the ability to transition to 100% e-commerce operations unlike some online D2C luxury disruptors.
Speed is Everything—So Is Flexibility
While the two examples I provided talked about large corporations, the same message holds true for other brands—big, small, and everything in between. Brands must be flexible and act fast when faced with disruption or turmoil, otherwise they risk extinction.
And I suppose it is that approach that has been so key to how I have led and built Pitch 5 Productions since the beginning—and it is also likely a key reason we have seen our business thrive during times of uncertainty.
I invite you to consider these lessons and how they might relate to your own business and operating model.
Key Lessons on How to Manage Market Challenges
Embrace a wide range of disciplines. I am not necessarily saying be a jack of all trades and a master of none, but rather, be able to have a service offering that isn’t ultra-niche or too exclusive. Simply put, here at Pitch 5, I have a stable of award-winning directors who specialize in a large variety of categories, including comedy, documentary and lifestyles, and tabletop, just to name a few. Because of this multi-disciplinary approach, we can help brands in a wide range of categories, and we are not pigeon-holed or limited as opposed to a film production company that focuses on one genre, for instance. It is necessary to have perspective that does not operate with a myopic lens.
Move fast and loose. It has always been important to me to keep Pitch 5 streamlined and nimble. Why? Because it is easier to steer a speedboat, for instance, than it is a cruise liner. Presently, we have a talented and multi-disciplinary team and instead of permanent studio space, we have contracted crews located all over the country, so we are able to shoot wherever and whenever and can get someone on-site fast, which saves time and money. Plus, our geographical ambivalence also contributes to the fact that we can offer fast turnaround for production and post-production, getting content to brands quicker and more efficiently.
Recognize that business requirements change and roll with it—making clients happy. We have also created and implemented a business model that embraces the fact that a project’s requirements might change last minute or that an extra revision might be needed by a client during post-production. These things are simply a reality and adopting a fluid mindset can endear yourself to a client, which means they will return to you for the long term.
Value creative thinking over “best practices.” So many times, companies operate by an established rulebook or playbook and have a list of processes and procedures that they will not or cannot vary from—they are set in their ways, and that makes them slower to react to changes in market needs, demands, and interests. Sure, we have an operating model at Pitch 5, but I also encourage my team to use creative thinking when solving clients’ challenges and problems. At the end of the day, the best practice that a company should follow is to grow and adapt freely, and that means recognizing that not all of your clients’ needs are going to fit into pretty little boxes and align perfectly with your company’s solution.
To summarize, these approaches have allowed Pitch 5 Productions to operate differently, cost-effectively, and creatively on our clients’ behalf, and in turn, we have gained a competitive advantage. I know we can adapt to change, and that makes me feel incredibly positive about what the future holds for us.
