When you ask an average business audience to name the first person to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic, most people know it was Charles Lindbergh.
當你讓一個普通的商業觀眾說出第一個獨自直飛大西洋的人的名字時，大多數人都知道他是查爾斯·林德伯格(Charles Lindbergh)。
Most can also name Amelia Earhart as the first woman to achieve that feat.
大多數人還可以說出阿米莉亞·埃爾哈特(Amelia Earhart)是第一位實現這一壯舉的女性。
But silence usually prevails when people are asked to name the second or third aviator to do it.
但是，當人們被要求說出第二個或第三個飛行員的名字時，沉默通常會佔上風。
The fact that the third person was Earhart reveals an important facet of human psychology, namely that we tend to remember people and things based on their category rather than as part of the broader whole.
第三個人是埃爾哈特的事實揭示了人類心理學的一個重要方面，即我們傾向於根據人和事物的類別而不是更廣泛整體的一部分來記住他們。
If you are the first or the best, that tends to stick.
如果你是第一個或最好的，這往往是持久的。
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Consultants and professional service providers would do well to heed this lesson at a time when they’re swimming in an ever-expanding pond of similar firms.
當顧問和專業服務提供商在一個不斷擴大的類似公司池塘中游泳時，他們會很好地聽從這個教訓。
There are an estimated 700,000 business consulting firms globally, and many of their services are fast becoming commodities.
據估計，全球約有70萬家商業諮詢公司，它們的許多服務正在迅速成為商品。
Whether it’s getting help on an audit or installing Salesforce, customers know they’re going to get similar types of people and services from the industry.
無論是獲得審計幫助還是安裝Salesforce，客戶都知道他們將從行業獲得類似類型的人員和服務。
Figure out what makes you special
找出是什麼讓你與眾不同
Rather than keep fishing in these vast waters, expert service providers need to shrink their pond by honing in on what they do best.
與其繼續在這些遼闊的水域捕魚，專家服務提供商需要通過磨練他們最擅長的東西來縮小他們的池塘。
So you can’t be the best barbecue restaurant in town? Fine.
所以你不能成為鎮上最好的燒烤餐廳？好吧。
But maybe instead of being the second or third best maybe you can position yourself as the premier dry-rib joint.
但也許你可以把自己定位為首屈一指的幹肋骨關節，而不是第二或第三最好的。
Carving out a niche for your practice — whether you are self-employed or running a practice inside a bigger company — takes on even greater importance when you consider how technology has dispersed an industry’s clientele across the globe.
當你考慮到技術如何將行業客戶分散到全球各地時，為你的業務開拓利基-無論你是個體經營者還是在更大的公司內經營業務-就變得更加重要。
It’s harder for these far-flung clients to differentiate between one provider and another.
對於這些遙遠的客戶來說，區分一個提供商和另一個提供商是比較困難的。
The way to cut through this absence of signal is to be the worldwide expert at one particular thing.
打破這種信號缺失的方法就是成為某一特定事物的世界性專家。
The simplest way to position yourself as a niche expert is to focus on your most successful case studies.
將自己定位為利基專家最簡單的方法就是專注於最成功的案例研究。
Where have you achieved the best results and added the most value to clients?
您在哪些方面取得了最好的結果，併為客戶帶來了最大的價值？
Build on your successes to create a niche
在你的成功基礎上創造一個利基
Your practice may have the ability to help any kind of management team, but perhaps, for instance, it’s worked closely with several mining companies and achieved strong improvements to their supply chain.
您的實踐可能有能力幫助任何類型的管理團隊，但也許，例如，它與幾家礦業公司密切合作，並對其供應鏈進行了強有力的改進。
Backed by this record, maybe you should try to build a niche as the world’s only practice that helps mining sector COOs to drive down costs and control their supply chains.
在這一記錄的支持下，也許你應該嘗試建立一個利基市場，作為世界上唯一的做法，幫助採礦業首席運營官降低成本，控制他們的供應鏈。
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I know one law firm with a regulatory practice that was maybe good enough to make the top 200 firms in the country based on reputation.
我認識一家律師事務所，它的監管實踐可能足以根據聲譽躋身全國前200家律所之列。
But it happened to be based in Colorado and California where those states have legalized cannabis and hemp in recent years.
但它恰好位於科羅拉多州和加利福尼亞州，這兩個州近年來已將大麻和大麻合法化。
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關鍵字: Salesforce 英語聽力 心理學
