When business leaders think about strategy, the default assumption is often to change everything by rewriting the plan and starting fresh.
But the truth is, most organisations already have far more strategic potential than they realise. The challenge doesn’t always have to be centred around invention and innovation – it can be tackled through recognition and activation.
What if your next competitive advantage is something you already own, but haven’t yet unlocked?
Your competitive edge may already exist
More often than not, businesses have capabilities that are hiding in plain sight. Skilled teams, unique data, loyal customers – all waiting to be mobilised. But without the right focus or framework, these assets can often remain dormant and forgotten, not because they lack value, but because there isn’t a clear lens through which to recognise and leverage them.
Strategic development shouldn’t start with a blank page. It should start by asking questions such as:
- What are we already doing well?
- What’s working, and how can we do more of it?
- How can we work smarter, faster, and more intentionally?
The real power lies in working smarter not harder. Strategy, in this context, is about joining the dots between what you already have and what you aim to achieve.
How private equity firms can unlocking value
Private equity firms are expert at spotting hidden value. Time and again, they’ve helped struggling businesses regain momentum by focusing on what is already working. Not by imposing a shiny new strategy, but by coaching leadership teams to see and build on their existing strengths.
In many cases, operational excellence was already there, it just needed better alignment, sharper insight, and a more deliberate approach.
We’ve seen this play out clearly in recent high-profile takeovers, one example being The Body Shop. After years of stagnation under various owners, the company was acquired by private equity firm Aurelius.
Instead of overhauling the brand or forcing radical change, Aurelius focused on revitalising the company by reconnecting it with its original purpose and strengths: ethical sourcing, environmental sustainability, and strong brand loyalty.
These were not new ideas, they were dormant capabilities and the shift wasn’t about invention, but rediscovery.
The role of strong leadership and management
One of the most consistent factors in unlocking strategic advantage is strong leadership. Not necessarily bringing more people on board, but finding the right people who have the clarity and confidence to guide teams, make decisions, and focus on delivery.
That might mean shifting from siloed thinking to cross-functional collaboration. It might involve making faster, more informed decisions. Or it could be about instilling a culture of accountability and purpose that helps the business move from intention to execution.
It’s often this change in management approach that lifts performance by creating the conditions for existing capabilities to thrive. With the right leaders in place, underused resources become core strengths. What seemed dormant becomes a source of growth.
Building strategic confidence
Understanding what you have and what it can become is a skill. Learning to see your business differently by spotting opportunities others miss, making better use of what’s already available, and embedding strategy into everyday thinking, is what separates organisations that talk about transformation from those that actually deliver it.
Strategic confidence comes from being able to assess, align and act. The goal is not just to develop a strategy, but to embed it into the way your business runs day to day.
When leaders operate with strategic confidence, they move beyond surface-level solutions and instead focus on building long-term value. They ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and create the conditions for their teams to do the same.
This mindset is what drives sustainable competitive advantage, not a new strategy for the sake of it, but a sharper, more focused approach to execution.
This is what we focus on in our course: how to unlock potential, not just design plans.
Join the course
Our Unlocking Strategic Competitive Advantage course is designed for senior professionals who want to lead smarter. Over four days, you’ll explore frameworks and tools to uncover your organisation’s latent potential, and turn insight into acceleration.
