ENTREPRENEURIAL TOOLBOX
Ride The Wave Of Market Changes With The SURGE Strategy
BY MIKE MICHALOWICZ
Let’ s face it, just when you have a handle on your industry, it changes. And, since I love analogies, I connected this ever-evolving phenomenon with surfing years back. So hang tight( and ten) as I overwhelm you with surfing puns. I promise the business steps will be better than the puns, too.
When the going gets tough, some folks like to ride it out. But what if you knew the formula to ensure you’ re riding in the right direction when the market changes?
When I wrote Surge, I aimed to provide a powerful strategy to navigate a changing marketplace. Let’ s dive into a quick overview of the methodology and how it can transform your approach to your industry when the seas are rough( hey, I warned you about the puns).
UNDERSTANDING MARKET DYNAMICS
Unless you’ re a lucky YouTuber, trust fund baby, or Google superstar, you’ re going to have to work to master your market. Your industry is a moving target, driven by shifting consumer demands. I know, you know. The problem is that traditional approaches— hoping for a lucky break, directly asking customers, predicting based on past experiences, or repeating past actions— often lead to stagnation. So let’ s check out some actions you can take to position yourself on the next wave, not just by predicting trends, but by identifying a marketplace wave that’ s already formed so you can catch it and dominate.
THE SURGE STRATEGY – LET’ S BREAK IT DOWN
To predict the flow of your market, catch the right wave, and master it, you need to SURGE— Separate, Unify, Rally, Gather, and Expand.
Separate
Here’ s the fun part— manufacturing luck and identifying your market. Now I know I said we can’ t rely on luck, but we can create it! It’ s important to understand that good fortune in business isn’ t about luck but about recognizing patterns and seizing opportunities.
Success isn’ t about stumbling into luck; it’ s about manufacturing luck by spotting patterns others miss. How? Take TED speaker and writer Becky Blanton’ s story as an example. After being homeless for 18 months, she developed a method based on identifying patterns that enabled her to find money on the street consistently. She found it outside of Walmart, around ATMs, phone booths( remember those?), and grocery stores. She went from couch surfing to renting to home ownership to owning her own business.
4