While most people just play the game, others change how the game is played. Those who change how the game is played are called Game Changers. They rewrite the rules. They see things differently. They reject the status quo ways of thinking and doing. They detest being average. They find ways to be highly successful – even when everyone else is struggling to break even. Game Changers make things happen!
I recently went through the membership list of the PCC Discussion Group. This group was established many years ago for PCC customers. It has over 20 world-renowned experts on profitable and sustainable ranching. Many say being a part of this unique discussion group is the best perk to being a PCC customer. I noticed there are many Game Changers in the PCC Discussion Group. These producers have totally changed the game of ranching.
While most producers continue to play the game as it has been played for the past 40 years, others are redefining how the game is played. In a time when most cow-calf producers are struggling to break even, Game Changers are extremely profitable. They have a distinct competitive advantage over status quo producers. There is no reason you cannot have a competitive advantage – if you want one.
There are two primary types of competitive advantages – a Cost Advantage and a Differential Advantage.
A Cost Advantage is created when cow-calf producers are able to deliver the same product as competitors but at a much lower cost. This requires a very low cost of production and/or a dramatic increase in production per acre. Many PCC customers have a cost of production that is less than half the national average. Many PCC customers have also increased their production per acre by 50 to well over 200 percent. Game Changers are focused on increasing production and profit per acre – not per animal!
A Differential Advantage is created when producers have a product that differs from competing products and is perceived to be superior to competing products. Many PCC customers, for example, produce and market grass-finished beef. While the demand for conventional beef has been struggling, the demand for grass-finished beef has been increasing by leaps and bounds. While the price of grain-fed animals is about half what it was four years ago, the price of grass-finished animals has increased during the same time period.
Several PCC customers have both a cost advantage and a differential advantage. They produce beef for less than everyone else and they sell it for more than everyone else. These producers are the ultimate Game Changers! They are doing what their neighbors say is impossible to do. They will continue to have a huge competitive advantage until their neighbors realize they can do the same thing. That won’t happen for a very long time, though, because most of their neighbors would rather fail than change.
Quote Worth Re-Quoting –
“If all you are trying to do is essentially the same as everyone else, then it’s unlikely you will be very successful.” ~ Michael Porter