First movers win. That’s the hard reality of the digital age. Our research is clear on this point. You have to be first at delivering something that has value and do it at sufficient scale—whether that’s a new product, a new platform, or superior customer service—to streak ahead of the competition. While adopting a fastfollower strategy can help you stay in the game, it’s risky. Time and again we see companies that have taken a fast-follower strategy not be able to move fast enough. To be first, you have to be fast, of course. Speed matters. Speed, however, is an outcome of deliberate actions and behaviors, and not the source of competitive advantage in itself. And the most important actions and behaviors to develop are those that help a company set the right direction, and then learn and adapt faster than anyone else.