Photo: BrennaWe’re taking a bike tour through the Everglades, and the guide mentioned one of the airboat “captains,” who did something seemingly irrational. He owned a tiny island in the ‘Glades, on which he had situated some feral pigs that he showed to tourists on his boat tour. His “problem” was that he didn’t own the water around the island, and his many competitors also showed off the pigs to their customers. He got angry and turned the pigs into ham and bacon (which he presumably consumed). He is a very weird guy, so looking for rationality on his part may be silly-although spite is a perfectly reasonable, but not pretty basis for behavior. But his behavior might be considered dollar-maximizing without making any assumptions about interpersonal comparisons. It could well be that the value of the ham and bacon to him and any competitive advantage that he might gain now that his competitors can’t show off the pigs justify his actions.
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lol too funny, talk about “eating the competitive edge.” Oh well the tour moves on right along with the hearty ham breakfast.
” It could well be that the value of the ham and bacon to him and any competitive advantage that he might gain now that his competitors can’t show off the pigs justify his actions”
The value of the ham might have been higher then a non-existant competitive advantage, but it the wrong metric to measure the rationality of his actions.
What was the value of the attraction to his business, compared to the value of the pork? There is a good chance he is making less money now he has less to exhibit, and so is poorer for his decision.
Here is the similar story
What distinguishes you from your competitors? Every good business looks for ways in which to gain a competitive edge. In today’s world, information is disseminated instantaneously and technology advances at break-neck speeds making it difficult to obtain and maintain an advantage in your industry. Understanding and strategically protecting and exploiting your intellectual property can be very important to obtaining and maintaining a competitive edge. Every business should have a strategy for assessing and protecting its intellectual property. The following are some general guidelines for creating a strategic plan that suits your business.
That actually is a very smart idea. If it can’t be solely yours, destroy it. Phil @ Phil’s Stock World is all about the competitive edge.
http://ilene.typepad.com/ourfavorites/josh-at-phils-stock-world-.html
He should restock it and then offer feral-pig bacon from his private stock if you take his tour.