As consultants, we spend a lot of our time in the field. Facilitating at strategy retreats, inducting board members or leading brainstorming sessions. Every client is different and that is what makes this work enjoyable. I remember walking into a strategy retreat, confident, slightly amused at myself, ready to unveil elegant frameworks, only to realise early that morning that the team had a far more basic problem: nobody trusted each other, and the strategy document sitting on the table due for refresh was nothing more than decoration.

The fact is following the crowd kills strategy. June, mid-morning, a lakeside hotel, polished table, neat name cards, and a leadership team that looked aligned on paper but fragmented in behaviour. I started my session by breaking the ice. I asked: “Why is this company pursuing the same products, same customers, same pricing as your competitors?” No one spoke. Then polite answers. Then rehearsed responses. But beneath it all, fear. Nobody wanted to be the one who tried something different and failed publicly.

Now pause and ask yourself, where in your organisation are you copying instead of thinking? When you see a room freezing and fearing to engage, try a different approach. I ran a short exercise. I asked each executive to write down one decision they had avoided in the last six months because “others were not doing it.” The room shifted, the real strategy conversation had just begun. Members took 3-6 minutes thinking and writing. It is good to give people the opportunity to “download.” It works and it really does.

Following the crowd kills strategy.

Here is the pattern I see across industries, from banking to telecom to manufacturing. Weak team’s benchmark. Strong teams choose. Weak teams ask, “What are others doing?” Strong teams ask, “What must we do differently to win?” The difference is not intelligence. It is courage and clarity. A red flag of copycats is when their procurement officers ask: who else have you done this for before! Seriously, why would you want me to do for you something someone has already implemented? How do you pioneer and lead?

You are probably thinking, “But differentiation is risky.” Exactly. That is the point. Strategy is risk selection, not risk avoidance. I use a simple tool, called “Breakaway Decision Test.”

  1. a) Identify one area where you are identical to competitors.
  2. b) Define one bold alternative that creates discomfort internally.
  3. c) Assign a leader and timeline to test it within 90 days.

We tested this in that same retreat. One division chose to stop chasing low-margin clients everyone else was fighting for. Instead, they redesigned their offer around speed and premium service. Within six months, revenue quality improved, and internal confidence shifted. Not because the idea was perfect but because they finally stopped hiding behind the crowd.

When you follow the market, you inherit its weaknesses. When you lead, you define its direction. The impact is immediate and practical. Your leadership gains recognition because you are no longer predictable. Your teams execute faster because decisions are clearer. Your results improve because you escape crowded, low-margin spaces. And surprisingly, leadership becomes more enjoyable because you are creating, not copying.

I told that team something I will tell you now: “Strategy is not about being right. It is about being different in a way that works.” If you act on this, your organisation becomes sharper, faster, and harder to compete with. If you ignore it, you will remain trapped in crowded markets, fighting for shrinking margins, wondering why growth feels like struggle. Before your next meeting, confront these questions:

  1. Where are we copying competitors instead of thinking independently?
  2. Which bold decision are we avoiding because it feels uncomfortable?
  3. Who in this team has the courage to lead a different path; and will we support them when it gets difficult?

Answer honestly, that is where your real strategy begins.