The Myth of The First Mover Advantage

Entrepreneurship
Written By Matthew Burzon, SHRM-SCP

You know Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech? It was the work of an incorrigible procrastinator.

It’s true. The line the civil rights leader is most remembered for was a last-minute addition to this speech.

Of course, the bulk of the speech was started way in advance. And this, says Adam Grant, is the mark of an original thinker: people who start projects early, but finish them slowly.

In his TED Talk “The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers,” Grant talks about the myth of “first-mover advantage.” He cites a failure rate of 47% for first-movers, where the “improvers,” on the other hand, have a failure rate of only 8%.

Facebook and Google were not first movers in their arenas. They followed MySpace and Yahoo — but they did it differently.

It’s called VUJA DE: the ability to look at something you’ve seen before, but with fresh eyes.

Matthew Burzon, SHRM-SCP

As the Founder and President of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆, my mission is to transform the recruitment process for businesses seeking exceptional talent.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆™ is a B2B and B2C e-commerce platform offering on-demand recruitment and placement solutions and is the parent company to 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙆𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙡 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙣 𝙃𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. Source and Recruit is also the Founding Sponsor of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙪𝙢, a free community platform created to promote and support the professional development of recruiting professionals throughout the US and beyond.


Our team utilizes AI-driven strategies and in-depth market analysis to deliver bespoke recruitment solutions, ensuring a seamless fit between candidates and company culture. We've cultivated a robust multi-brand e-commerce platform that connects organizations with top-tier professionals and supports informed hiring decision making.

Our approach to talent acquisition is rooted in modern recruitment techniques and a deep understanding of diverse sourcing, candidate engagement, and AI-driven personalized recruitment email marketing. We are truly a prototypical 21st century artificial intelligence-empowered recruitment agency enabling businesses to overcome the hiring challenges of today's competitive landscape.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewburzon/
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