Why Finding Your Edge Should Be a Top Priority!
Do you know what your edge is? Do you know how to discover it? Your edge is what sets you apart from the competition.
You discover the best edges by observation and activity. Finding your edge is not something you learn in school. Want to discover your own edge? Ask yourself these questions: What do you do a lot of; more than anyone else? What do you do better than other people; so much that you become so good, other people ask for your help doing it for them. Perhaps they will pay you for it. Your edge is a skill or talent you can do better than other people at a level they can’t compete.
Finding and keeping your edge is an edge in and of itself. You are taking the time to find how you compete in stronger ways than your closest competitors.
Those with the strongest edge many times have the best understanding of risk. Risk is easy to think about in theory and hard to do in reality. Investors with an edge can have the best relationship with risk. They know what they can tolerate and what they can’t. Entrepreneurs or anyone starting something new also have a tolerance for risk. Acting on risk is the competitive edge setting these people apart.
What is edge? Your personal competitive advantage at a specific skill or area is your edge. Financial traders define it as their alpha; what sets them apart from the pack. Or what they can do better than their competition to make money. Poker players define it as the skills you bring to the table other players lack. These skills bring you an easy win against players lacking an edge.
I’d like to believe everyone has their own personal edge. While this may be true, value accrues only in spaces where demand is high. I could have a huge edge over a financial trader in a board game I’ve practiced and mastered from a young age. But my edge is winning a board game. Switch the game to playing the financial markets, and the trader would beat me any day of the week. The markets are their domain and where they have worked to build an edge.
Finding your edge is tricky if you don’t know what to look for. Maybe you thought you had an edge in writing essays. AI makes it difficult in certain respects by leveling the playing field. Do you want to make money with your essays? Now you need to up your game. This is happening across all creative industries now.
Technology has always compounded competitive advantages for those willing to grab it. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, a baseline ability to use a computer gave anyone a leg up over the majority who didn’t. Now you can argue that leg up is with anyone using AI as an assistant. The world changes fast.
AI is also a forcing mechanism for people to find their edge. There is so much talk about AI’s abilities to do anything. The truth remains blunt. AI lifts the bar of what is passable. Coasting in your area of expertise is no longer viable; you must master it. This is what will set you apart from everyone else you are competing with, including AI.
What is another way to find your edge in the age of AI? Bringing a human element to whatever it is you do will be a differentiator. When AI tools can do what everyone else can, marks of humanity will set you apart. Those with an edge in soft skills will thrive. And although soft skills can be learned, there are those who master them in ways unbelievable to most. Watch a master politician give a speech or meet potential voters. Watch how they interact with them. The best are masters of their craft; soft skills. Hard skills in tech will remain in demand; a mastery of soft skills will help anyone stand apart from the crowd.
Your edge is the story you tell; a narrative driving your reputation in the marketplace. Culture runs on narratives. It’s better off knowing how much you can control your own narrative instead of handing it off to others. The story surrounding your edge is what leads to agency. Agency is an aspect of how you move through the world with varying degrees of freedom.
Using your competitive edge to succeed at your craft is a super power in life. A key unlocking a door to a satisfying world where you can practice and share what you are great at. Your edge doesn’t have to be only in the arts either. Whatever it is you do better than anyone else, keep pushing forward, and make the world better for it.