Are you a Follower or a Front-Runner?

When to Lead, When to Follow

Chasing, Leading, and Redefining the Race

In business, is it always the leader who wins the race?

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Formula 1’s Lewis Hamilton once said, "It is easier to chase than it is to lead."  As with most wisdom, this nugget resonates beyond the racetrack. It speaks to the nerve-wracking pressure of leadership and the cost of early mistakes that market followers, if they’re smart, learn from and turn into an advantage.  But of course, to lead is to be numero uno, the victor, the winner that takes all.  Yet, the pressure of leadership is unrelenting.  And as Nigerians often say, “…it (leadership) is not by force”.  

I spent most of my career working for followers.  At first, I wondered why anyone would cede market leadership, but in time, I came to understand and respect that to follow is to thrive in the safety of market stability at a lower cost.  In fact, some of your favorite unicorns have thrived as followers before becoming market leaders - Facebook came after MySpace as did Google who entered the market after Yahoo!. They refined existing models, eliminated inefficiencies, and outlasted those who initially led the way.

The choice between chasing and leading isn't just a tactical decision—it's a strategic imperative that shapes the DNA of your business. It's about more than just market position; it's about how you innovate, how you allocate resources, and ultimately, how you create value in a world where the rules of the game are constantly shifting.

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To Lead or to Chase

We often equate leadership with glory and following with safety. But what if leadership isn’t always the most rewarding position? Sometimes, it’s the chaser—armed with a strategic plan and fewer risks—who outlasts the bold market pioneer.

Your strategic focus hinges on this choice. If you're leading, you're signing up for a relentless pursuit of innovation and market creation. This demands significant investment in R&D, marketing, and top-tier talent. You're not just building a product; you're crafting an entirely new market category.  You can also expect to be flattered by imitators - good and bad.  

On the flip side, chasing allows you to focus on refinement and tactical advantages, using the leader's moves as a playbook.  Being a smarter player on the field, not necessarily the first.

Risk management takes on a different flavor depending on your position. Leaders navigate uncharted waters, shouldering the burden of regulatory scrutiny and market education. It's exhilarating, but it's also exhausting. Chasers, however, can learn from the leader's missteps, capitalizing on existing market knowledge to sidestep potential pitfalls.

Your market positioning is intrinsically tied to this decision. Leaders set trends and define customer expectations with their market positioning—a heavy responsibility that can yield immense rewards. Chasers have the luxury of focusing on offering better value, price, or features based on existing demand. Rather than being second-best; it's about being the best at fulfilling what the market has already validated.

Perhaps most critically, this decision shapes your internal culture. Leading demands a bold, visionary company ethos that thrives on constant innovation and can weather the storms of uncertainty. Some innovators become leaders and then stop innovating and wonder where their market leadership went as competition chips away at their lead.  Chasing, conversely, fosters a culture of agility and operational excellence. In the VUCA environments typical of emerging markets, both approaches have their merits—but they require fundamentally different mindsets.

In essence, the choice to chase or lead directly influences how you allocate resources, approach risk, interact with customers, and cultivate company culture. It's not just a strategic decision; it's a philosophical one that will echo through every aspect of your operations.

The Thrill of The Chase

There's an art to the chase that's often under-appreciated. When you're not burdened with blazing the trail, you can enjoy the luxury of observation. You can dissect the leader's every move, identify the hairline fractures in their strategy, and exploit the gaps they've overlooked. It's a position that demands a keen eye (or not!) and a readiness to pivot at a moment's notice.  

In Amazon’s early days, while eBay was defining the e-commerce space, Bezos and his team were meticulously studying the landscape, identifying pain points, and methodically building a juggernaut that would eventually redefine online retail.

The chaser's advantage lies in their ability to be nimble, to iterate rapidly without the weight of market expectations. They can afford to fail fast and learn faster, all while the leader bears the brunt of market education and regulatory scrutiny.

Image: Peter Cziborra/REUTERS

The Price and Pressure of a Pioneer

Leadership, on the other hand, is a double-edged sword. The market leader charts a course through uncharted waters, often with nothing but instincts and data as a compass. The leader sets the pace, defines the benchmarks, and shoulders the responsibility of moving the entire industry forward.

Take Tesla's bet on electric vehicles. When they decided to go all-in on EVs, the conventional wisdom deemed it a fool's errand. But by taking the lead, Tesla didn't just create a new product—they catalyzed a near-seismic shift in the automotive industry, forcing some giants to play catch-up and redefining what consumers expect from their vehicles.

Leading means making decisions in a vacuum, often without the luxury of precedent. It requires the courage to make bold bets and the resilience to weather the inevitable storms that come with breaking new ground.

Choosing Your Lane

The decision to chase or lead isn't one to be taken lightly. But once taken, it can feel peaceful.  It requires a clear-eyed assessment of your market dynamics, your internal capabilities, and your appetite for risk. In my years scaling businesses, I've seen companies falter because they chose a position that was misaligned with their core competencies or the realities of their operating environment, or they cannot make up their mind whether to lead or follow.

Before you decide to lead, ask yourself:

• Do you have the resources to sustain innovation at a pace that keeps you ahead of the pack?

• Can your culture support the pressure of constant scrutiny and the need for relentless forward momentum?

If you opt to chase, consider this: 

• How can you differentiate in a market where the rules are already set? 

• What unique value can you bring that the leader has overlooked?

Image: missled.studio

Switching Between Lanes

In today's complex business landscape, the most successful companies often adopt a nuanced approach, leading in some areas while strategically chasing in others. It's about knowing when to push the boundaries and when to draft behind the leaders.

Tech giants in emerging markets have this. Companies like Grab in Southeast Asia or Mercado Libre in Latin America didn't just copy Western models—they cherry-picked the best ideas, adapted them to local contexts, and then innovated beyond them to create uniquely powerful platforms.

A hybrid approach isn't just about alternating between leading and chasing; it's about strategic alignment. For example, a company might lead in product development but chase in marketing strategies to optimize resources.

Consider the indicators: lead when innovation is your strength and chase when you're entering a new market where others have already paved the way.

For instance, Netflix initially chased Blockbuster’s model but then led with streaming.  Spotify chased Apple in the music industry but then led with a freemium model and personalized playlists.  

This hybrid strategy requires a keen sense of timing and a deep understanding of your market. It's about knowing when to step on the gas and when to conserve your energy for the long haul.

Charting Your Own Course

Ultimately, the choice between chasing and leading is less about position and more about perspective. The true winners in this race are those who can redefine the track itself, creating new categories and unlocking value in ways the market hasn't yet imagined.

When deciding whether to chase or lead, consider using a matrix to decide. This tool helps you evaluate your market position, resources, innovation capability, risk tolerance, and cultural fit. For instance, if your market position is new and uncharted, leading might offer first-mover advantages. However, if you're entering a well-established market, chasing and refining the existing models could yield better returns.

Ask yourself about your: 

• Market Position

  • What key trends are we missing that others might see?

  • If we vanished tomorrow, how would the market react—or would it even notice? Are you a market shaper or a reactor?

  • Are we shaping the market’s direction, or are we reacting to where it’s already headed?

• Resource Availability

  • If we had to double output in six months, do we have the talent and systems to handle it?

  • What internal limitations are we pretending don’t exist, but are holding us back?

  • Can we afford to fail repeatedly at the pace required to lead?

• Innovation Capability

  • Do we really value innovation, or do we just say we do?

  • How often do we break our own models to create something better?

  • Are we more comfortable improving on others’ ideas than inventing our own?

• Risk Tolerance

  • What’s the worst-case scenario we’re truly willing to stomach?

  • Are we prepared to cannibalize our own success if it means future growth?

  • Are we seeking safety more than success, even if we don’t admit it?

• Cultural Fit

  • Do we have a culture that can handle public failure with resilience and urgency?

  • Are we fostering a “sprint” culture or do we have marathoners to lead long-term?

  • Is our team energized by ambiguity and rapid change, or are they thriving only under stability?

As you navigate your own competitive landscape, remember: It's not just about being first or being fast. It's about being smart, being adaptable, and most importantly, being true to your vision of the future you want to create.

So, which lane will you choose?

P.S.: This is a Lewis Hamilton appreciation post :)