Behavioral Advantage

Introduction

In Winning Behavior: What the Smartest, Most Successful Companies Do Differently (AMACOM, 2003), we introduced the concept of behavioral differentiation. In our research on successful companies, we noted that the best-in-class companies had more than great products or services, a unique business model, and a wealth of talented employees; they also outbehaved their rivals and created a behavioral advantage for themselves in the markets they served. By outbehaving their rivals, we mean that their behavior toward customers—and employees—was significantly better than the norm for their industry.

They showed more care, respect, and commitment than their rivals did. They were more responsive to customers’ needs, including their unspoken ...