All success at some level is about winning. Not necessarily coming first, but certainly reaching some kind of goal or destination. The truth is that most of us are terrible at articulating exactly what the plan to get there is. The ability to do this is probably the single most important competitive advantage of all successful entrepreneurs.

Answering this question forces us to put a stake in the ground, to get specific, to stop being vague about where our true advantages lie. Once you commit to that goal, you begin to articulate and take action on the steps to get there.

Imagine how other entrepreneurs might have answered this question:

Dollar Shave Club
We will win by providing a better quality product direct to our customer at a fair price.

Everlane
We will win by being the most transparent fashion brand on the planet.

Little Flowers
We will win by making the gesture of flower giving simpler and more affordable.

You don’t have to be first to break the tape, but you need to know how you’re going to make it across the finish line. How will you win? What do you need to do now and next, in order to do that?

Image by Philo Nordlund