At the October 2007 World Business Forum in New York, Garry Kasparov, the great world chess champion, noted that a player attacks in two ways. The first, “direct assault,” occurs when he is backed into a position he doesn’t like. Those who succeed are admired for their resilience and celebrated as a “come from behind” story. The second, which Kasparov called “creating and maintaining the initiative,” is preemptive in nature, putting the player in a position of leadership and control. It may lack the excitement of a surprise victory, but the persistent mastery is admired by all.

Many market leaders were not the original pioneers of their product. Examples include Boeing, Hewlett Packard, Google, and Apple’s iPod. In each of these situations, the market leaders outperformed the pioneers because they pressed the initiative. They continually improved, invested in people and research, and developed a strong organizational vision. Meanwhile, the pioneers lost an opportunity, not because they started badly, but because they stopped pressing.

How is your organization’s discipline in strategy execution? Create the initiative, and then keep pressing.