Tell me the story of David and Goliath.

Even if you’re not religious, I bet you came up with some version of, “Tiny guy beats big guy against probable odds.”

It’s the world’s most famous underdog tale. That’s the story we all know. 

It’s also untrue.

Malcolm Gladwell isn’t the only person to discover just how misunderstood the story of David is, but his retelling is certainly the most famous.

In his book David and Goliath and companion TED Talk, Gladwell turns the legend on its head and argues that David wasn’t the underdog at all. In fact, all the things we typically think of as David’s disadvantages were in fact major advantages.

Here are a few.

David was a tiny, scrawny young shepherd in rags going up against a 6’ 9” tall giant in armor. That makes him light on his feet, super quick, and difficult to catch. 

Advantage: David.

David had only a sling, while Goliath had a massive sword. But slingers, as they were known, had deadly accuracy at a distance, slinging a rock at 35 meters per second. The stopping power of one of David’s rocks would have been equivalent to a 45 caliber pistol today. Goliath can only swing a heavy sword if his target is within 4 feet or so.

Advantage: David.

Goliath is a giant. But today we understand giantism is commonly caused by acromegaly, which is itself caused by a benign tumor on your pituitary gland. Acromegaly has side effects including double-vision or significant near-sightedness. He moves slowly and cautiously, and doesn’t even notice David gearing up at a distance because he literally can’t see him.

Advantage: David.

David and Goliath isn’t an underdog story at all. It’s a smackdown.

There’s a very good change you’ve misunderstood your own story, too.

What are your disadvantages, and are they really?

I used to mentor young magicians. 

One of my longest and most fulfilling relationships was with Nevin Sanchez, who toured with me on and off for years learning the trade and industry during his college years.

When he graduated and transitioned into magic full-time, Nevin asked me, “How am I ever going to compete with you, and pros like you?”

Nevin viewed his youth and inexperience as a disadvantage when compared to seasoned, experienced pros he was directly competing against. 

And he was right. Trying to compete with me on experience, polish, or production value would have been a colossal error.

Instead, I encouraged Nevin to consider the other side of being a young magician. What might that very same “disadvantage” yield over someone like me?

Being young with no ‘real’ responsibilities, he could stay up all night and dedicate much more time to working on his act. 

Having a relatively empty calendar, he could respond to clients and prospects faster than someone like me, with a busy schedule and full business to maintain, could possibly do.

He was much more intune with the latest and greatest, be it magic tricks, social media, or even pop culture references.

And on and on.

I told Nevin, lean into your youth and inexperience when speaking with prospects. Address it head-on. Take control of the conversation and tell a story where your disadvantages are actually advantages.

He did just that, and it led him to not only getting signed by a national entertainment agency, but collaborating with top magicians and even securing a job with an international magic company for a time.

Fine-Dining in a Pandemic

Tyler Anderson is a chef and owner of multiple fine-dining restaurants, who has appeared on the Food Networking and Top Chef on Bravo.

When the world shut down in March of 2020, Tyler, like all restaurant owners, had to figure out his next move.

We were originally connected through mutual friend Pam Paydos, a beloved Connecticut restaurateur who currently owns a small town bistro & bakery. Her Pivot was to double-down on her relationship with loyal customers, remodel, and make the most of her limited square footage.

Pam’s small staff and location allowed her to be nimble.

On the other hand, Tyler’s flagship restaurant, Millwrights, is a large fine-dining establishment with a big staff and heavy expenses.

Like everyone else, he immediately shifted to carry-out dining. That’s not what Millwrights is known for, however. Here’s what Tyler told me when we sat down for Year of the Pivot on the Beyond Networking podcast:

“Millwrights is a fine dining restaurant. We’re not known for our carry out. In every phase, we sort of sit back and say:

What do we have that gives us an advantage? What do we have that gives us a disadvantage? 

And if we can take the disadvantages and somehow work them into advantages, then we will have succeeded. 

People are used to paying sort of a premium for Millwrights stuff. We use the best ingredients. So we wanted to make it affordable. But at the same time, we knew we didn’t have to have 1000 people ordering carry out from us to make it work. Thankfully many, many, many people did and it was awesome.”

It would have been so easy for Tyler to look at someone like Pam with envy that she could make quick moves with low expenses. Instead, Tyler realized that they could leverage their premium status as a way to survive not on volume, as small restaurants with low-priced menus had to, but on experience. 

Be for Somebody, Not Everybody

We did curbside pickup from both Pover Bistro & Bakery and Millwrights during the last year. Both were a wonderful experience for different reasons and occasions. 

A year after the pandemic hit, both Pam and Tyler have remained pillars of our local community, despite having completely different strategies.

They each thrived by turning perceived disadvantages into positive, differentiating factors to connect with their people. Not ALL people, but the right people.

Listen to my full conversation with celebrity chef Tyler Anderson here, or watch below: https://beyondnetworkingpodcast.com/tyler-anderson/