HR Corner: When It Matters to Be a Big Fish in a Small Pond

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Many frowned upon the idea of being a big fish in a small pond. The unbelievers of this idea preach, you lack ambition if you are a big fish in a small pond there is little to no room for growth which can lead to stagnation, suffocation and eventually not maximizing your potential.

Some of the most successful organization in the Caribbean if these companies were to uprooted from the Caribbean and planted in other larger region would they still stand out or lost in the sea of mediocrity?

The followers of ‘small fish in a big pond,’ argues that being a small fish in big pond means you have opportunities and room for growth. A small fish in a big pond can growth and eventually maximize their potential if they are not already eaten up by other big fish.

But context matter when it comes to organization, the industry and the market they are operating in.

Big Fish Small Pond

In April of 2001, Digicel launched in Jamaica and changed the local mobile phone industry. Reaching one hundred thousand customers in less than 100 days. Digicel became one of the largest and most dominant mobile providers throughout the Caribbean region. Digicel was now a big fish in a small pond that changes the industry.

If Digicel had launch in a much bigger pond, a much larger market like North and South America or Europe, would they had the same measure of success and becoming dominant? To swim in a bigger pond means more resource to fight for market shares against much larger fish like T-Mobile, AT&T Verizon, Bell and Claro. Would Digicel as a start-up company remain small in those big ponds? becoming mediocrity and eventually eaten up by one of those larger players.

Being a big fish in a small pond means you can dominate and standout in a smaller market with less competition without getting lost in mediocrity. Which is often better for new and specialize organization.

The strength of a Big Fish in a Small Pond

• Top Perform

When you are in a smaller pond it is much easier for you to become a top performer because there is less competition. If you were to uproot the largest banks, car dealers, manufacturers, telecommunication companies and other notable companies from the Caribbean and place them in a bigger market many would lose in the sea of mediocrity. Being a big fish in a smaller pond give you influence, respect and even status

• High Visibility

When you are operating in a smaller market, organization, church, school or club you able to get notice faster by customers and decision makers. When Digicel launched in Jamaica in 2001 there was only one player in the telecommunication industry and that was Cable and Wireless now rebrand as flow. Digicel immediate gain high visibility from the media and word of mouth spread like wildfire on a hot Jamaican summer day. When you are in a crowded space it very difficult to gain visibility through clutter.

• Testing Ground for Expansion

Dominating a small area gives an organization or an individual the confidence to experiment on various ideas which could strengthen their product or service. In a Small pound can build a fortress, grow roots to stabilize your operation and using that fortress as a launching pad into other areas. Being a big fish in a small pond would have already given you some form of creditable through high visibility. Digicel use the Caribbean region to grow, build its brand and stabilize it operation. Once Digicel had done that they launched it operation in the oceanic area. This success was largely a result of conquering the Caribbean region.

• Build Confidences

Research as shown that a child who is at the very top of an average class tend to have more confidence than a child who is at the very bottom of the very best class. Being at the top of the average class gives that child a moral booster and the ability to build confidence. What is true for an individual is also true for an organization and its leaders. Being at the top in a small area give confidence and moral booster. You can’t win without confidence and building confidence is a key ingredient in the formula for good success. Small pond builds reputation

• Build Reputation

Managing well and growing what you have being entrusted with a at a smaller level build creditable and gives authority in any field or industry or field. With such authority it makes you qualify for more, it prepares you for the big pond.

 Growth

Small pond can suffocate growth and paralyzing you or an organization from maximizing its potential.  An organization or individuals don’t have to stay in a small pond forever.

Small pond gives you the ability to manage well on a small scale in order for you to gets some wins under your belt which is need for the big pond. If you can’t succeed in a small pond than the odds are against you being a small fish in a big pond to becoming a big fish in a big pond.

Though there are many opportunities in a big pond there are many big fish, the shakes who are salivating for a smaller fish to eat. Once you become a big fish in a small pond than you can move to a bigger pond and become even a bigger fish.

In other words, manage and grow well the little you have before migrating to a bigger pond. If you are a small fish right now in a big pond don’t fear maximize every opportunities that are given to you and grow and become all that you have created to be.

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