Competitors are using rapid AI development to build and launch copycat versions of our software features within days. How do we redefine our V/TO® Core Focus™ to protect our market share when our traditional technological barriers to entry have completely vanished?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When technology becomes cheap and plentiful, building code is no longer a sustainable barrier to entry. As experts Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson point out, the real business value of AI comes not from the technology itself but from how organizations combine it with human capabilities. To protect your market share, your leadership team must stop treating software features as your primary moat.

In your next quarterly session, take your Vision/Traction Organizer, or V/TO, and look closely at your Core Focus. Your Core Focus consists of your passion and your niche. If your niche was previously defined by a technical feature or functional tool, you are highly vulnerable. You must shift your focus to the outcomes your software enables and the proprietary relationships or integrations you control.

Ask your leadership team to run an IDS® session during your Level 10 Meeting™ to identify what cannot be easily duplicated by a competitor with a fast code generator. This usually includes your deep industry relationships, your proprietary data models, and your ability to serve as an indispensable complement to your clients operations.

By refining your Core Focus on the V/TO to prioritize these non-commoditized elements, you can guide your development team to build workflows that integrate deeply with your clients lives. This turns your product from a replaceable feature into an essential operating partner, making your competitor speed irrelevant.