Are you giving up your Intellectual Property every time you deliver your service?

And does it matter?

If you offer professional advice, consulting, or any kind of service where you provide your expertise, unique insights, documents, or supporting materials, it’s easy to think that you’re handing over your competitive advantage alongside your IP. 

Does it really matter? I would suggest that it doesn’t as much as we may think. 

Professionals often overweight the value of their expertise, thinking it’s the one thing that sets them apart from everyone else. When in fact expertise is what is known as ‘table-stakes’ and is unlikely to be the driver of your competitive advantage - or how your professional advice is valued.

Expertise is often ‘table-stakes’

Think of it like this – when you retain a consultant or an expert in a profession, it should go without saying that you expect them to have expertise in their subject. The chances are, you don’t ‘hire’ someone because their expertise is any more ‘expert’ than the next person. 

You’re more likely to hire them because of their service, their reputation, or their ability to bring diverse technical disciplines together to address high-value problems for their clients. 

Research on competitive advantage

Oxford’s Professors Michael Smets and Tim Morris have done extensive research on this question. It is insightful because it identifies the activities that create a competitive advantage that is both sustainable and relevant. 

These activities can be evaluated and even compared against peer benchmarks to highlight strengths that can be leveraged and surface opportunities to develop capabilities and processes. This ensures that you are not solely dependent on your expertise and can compete successfully for new business using the full range of your competitive advantages. 

Read more on the components and activities which give you a sustainable competitive advantage.