Markets are Micro, not Macro
Note: We’re continuing Part 2 of Growth Isn’t One Sided: The Right People for the Right Problems. Last week we explored why growth requires more than optimization. This week: why one-size-fits-all strategies fail—and how successful companies adapt to unique local market conditions.
One Takeaway: Big strategies set direction, but local knowledge creates sustained growth success. Businesses grow when they recognize that markets—whether by location, customer groups, or industries—are unique and need tailored approaches.
Grow or Die?
It’s tempting to believe that a winning strategy in one place will work everywhere. While big strategies provide foundation, making them work requires flexibility. Customer behaviors, infrastructure, regulations, and cultural differences shape markets around the world.
Companies that fail to adapt to these differences risk waste, stagnation, or outright failure.
Growing Right, Not Just Growing
At Lyft and Uber, local teams turned high-level strategies into market-specific actions. The conditions that shaped rideshare demand in Las Vegas were different from those in San Francisco or Phoenix. The challenge wasn’t growth. It was growing correctly given specific needs.
Teams needed to make decisions that matched each market’s realities, not just corporate goals.
Why Local Knowledge Matters
Large organizations often struggle to balance centralized decision-making with local flexibility. Centralization ensures consistency, which is important, but it can also create blind spots.
This becomes critical when teams seeing problems firsthand aren’t enabled to influence decisions. As John Doerr notes, “Rigidly cascaded systems tend to shut out input from frontline employees. Innovation tends to dwell less at the center of an organization than at its edges.”1
Being close is key: The closer you are to a problem, the better you can identify and fix it. Success comes from combining structured systems with real-world flexibility.
Local vs. Universal Framework
Consider these guidelines to identify what needs local adaptation versus standardization:
What stays the same everywhere?
Brand standards and core values
Safety rules and legal requirements
Quality benchmarks and customer service principles
What needs local changes?
Product mix and service offerings
Marketing messages and promotional strategies
How you operate and who you partner with
Pricing strategies and competitive positioning
The things that stay the same everywhere are essentially about who you are as a company. Who you are needs to be consistent.
The things that need localized changes are more about who your customers are. Who your customers are can change based on context.
Real Examples from the Field
At Uber and Lyft, local teams were both problem-solvers and opportunity-seekers. Being close to customers allowed them to spot product flaws and untapped demand that dashboards couldn’t identify.
Local executives were responsible for both profit and growth. They couldn’t choose between one or the other. Their role required managing many priorities at once. Sometimes they had to sacrifice one metric to gain in another, because cost-free decisions rarely exist.
This structure wasn’t perfect, but it allowed for alignment and flexibility, which led to product improvements, cost savings, partnerships, and revenue growth.
Beyond Rideshare
This tension between centralized and local decision-making affects every industry:
Retail: National chains set brand-wide pricing strategies, but regional managers adjust store layouts and promotions based on local shopping patterns.
Hotels: Hotel chains maintain brand standards, but a resort in Hawaii focuses on outdoor activities while an urban hotel in New York caters to business travelers.
E-commerce: Amazon centralizes fulfillment operations but adjusts delivery strategies based on local infrastructure and demand.
The Distance Problem
Centralized leaders may think local teams can’t see the bigger picture. It’s possible those on the front lines can be too close to problems and care too much.
But if that’s true, then isn’t it also possible that centralized teams may be too far away from some problems to see them clearly or care enough? Business leaders need to remember they’re building for the real world outside their windows, not just lines on dashboards.
Big problems often require small solutions. As economist Peter Boettke puts it: “There may be macro problems, but there are only micro solutions.” While challenges may be broad—expanding market share, optimizing customer acquisition—solutions almost always require adapting to specific circumstances.
The Bottom Line
Every market, customer group, or business unit requires a unique approach to win. Even within a single region, customer needs vary by neighborhood, season, or demographic.
Companies that focus only on big strategies risk missing the realities of their individual markets or customer segments. Businesses that let those closest to the customer influence decision-making tend to thrive.
This ensures they aren’t just growing, but growing in a direction customers value.
Understanding market uniqueness is crucial, but it raises a deeper question: how do you systematically determine which problems can be solved with universal approaches versus those requiring local solutions? The answer lies in distinguishing between scalable and non-scalable challenges...
Doerr, John. Measure what matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation rock the world with OKRs. Penguin, 2018 pg. 86