Avoiding crowds

It's been too long since I posted any Hugh Macleod, but  he's been traveling more than he's been writing lately. This new post from "How to be Creative," fits nicely with the market differentiation for which we strive:

Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.

Your plan for getting your work out there has to be as original as the actual work, perhaps even more so. The work has to create a totally new market. There's no point trying to do the same thing as 250,000 other young hopefuls, waiting for a miracle. All existing business models are wrong. Find a new one.

Or, more succinctly:

Basically, when 20,000 people have the same biz model as you, you are dead meat.

It strikes me that the people who say that "it's all about execution" miss the point. Of course, you prepare for and focus on execution, or the idea never comes to fruition. But, humans and human systems are inherently fallible. While it's crucial in the moment, over the long haul, execution can't save you.  Sooner or later, someone will either a.) screw up or b.) build a better mousetrap.

Finding the new model -- that's where it's at.