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The Fish Seller and the Delta Model
How Leaders Win Through Trust, Not Force
Ikechukwu Okoh
November 24, 2025
In partnership with
Welcome To The Leadership Pulse
Welcome to practical insights at the crossroads of leadership, strategy, and growth.
Every week, Dr Ikechukwu Okoh presents MBA-level frameworks, real-world stories, and timeless lessons to help you lead clearly, inspire purposefully, and execute effectively.
Let’s develop leaders who shape the future.
Table of Contents
The Morning I Learned Strategy in a Nigerian Market
I grew up among people who built businesses relying solely on intuition, discipline, and their word.
Long before I sat in any MBA classroom or learned about strategy frameworks, I observed real strategy in action every morning in Nigeria’s markets.
There was a fish seller, everyone called him Baba Efe.
He wasn’t the loudest.
He wasn’t the cheapest.
He didn’t have the biggest stall.
But every morning, while other sellers shouted for customers, women quietly lined up in front of his stall.
As early as 6:30 AM, he already had a small crowd waiting: teachers, caterers, mothers, and restaurant owners.
One morning, I asked a woman why she always purchased from him.
“My son,” she said, “I don’t buy fish. I buy peace of mind.”
Even as a boy, that phrase stayed with me.
Years later, in the MBA classroom, I finally understood what I had seen.
When I encountered the Delta Model, everything fell into place.
Here was a world-class strategy framework formalising what Baba Efe had mastered instinctively.
Winning in business is not primarily about dominating competitors.
It’s about deepening your bond with your customers.
The Delta Model: A Framework Built for Human-Centred Strategy
Most leaders are familiar with Michael Porter’s Five Forces or the Ansoff Matrix.
However, the Delta Model, developed by Hax and Wilde, offers a different approach.
Instead of asking:
‘How do you defeat competitors?’
It asks:
‘How do you become indispensable to those you serve?’
It concentrates on three strategic positions:
Best Product Strategy (Winning through features and performance)
Low-Cost / System Lock-In Strategy (Winning through scale and efficiency)
Customer Bonding Strategy (Winning by establishing deep, irreplaceable relationships)
Baba Efe belonged to category 3.
He didn’t try to out-shout other sellers.
He didn’t attempt to undercut prices.
He didn’t seek the largest stall.
He focused on bonding.
People trusted him with their families, businesses, and meals.
They knew he would select the freshest fish, clean it well, cut it perfectly, and honestly tell whether it would last for two days or spoil that evening.
This exemplifies the essence of the Delta Model:
In a world where leaders chase efficiency, automation, and speed, the Delta Model reminds us of the core:
People remember how you made them feel, not just your product specifications.
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What Modern Leaders Can Learn From a Fish Seller
Lesson 1: Reliability Is a Strategy
Every morning, regardless of rain or heat, he was there.
Leadership is consistency.
Strategy is consistency.
Trust is consistency.
In companies, inconsistency destroys more loyalty than incompetence.
Lesson 2: Transparency Builds Loyalty
Sometimes he would tell customers:
“Don’t buy this one today. Tomorrow morning, better fish will come.”
Imagine a brand telling you not to buy their product today.
That’s customer bonding.
Lesson 3: Personalisation Wins
He remembered everyone.
He knew who wanted small fish for frying, who preferred the large catfish head for pepper soup, and who wished to cut for stew.
Personalisation is not new.
Technology just scaled what people like him already understood.
Lesson 4: Human Infrastructure Matters
You can copy someone’s stall.
You cannot copy their character.
Your best systems are not software.
Your most substantial competitive advantage is reputation.
How to Apply the Delta Model to Modern Leadership
Today, you lead in a world:
where customers have infinite options,
where team members have global mobility,
where attention spans are disappearing.
In such a world, one strategy rises above others:
Become Irreplaceable to the people you serve.
Ask yourself:
How do I deepen my connection with my customers?
What does “peace of mind” look like in your industry?
How do I remove friction in the experience?
The more seamless you make value, the stickier you become.
How do I design trust into every touchpoint?
Trust reduces competition more than any product feature.
Where am I still competing when I should be bonding?
You don’t need to dominate. You need to matter.
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The Leadership Delta: A Practical Weekly Toolkit
Use this 3-part tool I built for clients.
1. Map Your Customer Bonding Score
Rate yourself 1–5:
Responsiveness
Reliability
Empathy
Transparency
Memory (Do you remember their preferences?)
Promise Keeping
Personalisation
Anything below 3 needs urgent attention.
2. Identify Your “Signature Moves”
These are small, distinctive habits that build emotional safety.
Examples:
The weekly personalised update
Returning calls the same day
Anticipating needs without being asked
Admitting delays early
Sending value before expecting any return
What are yours?
3. Remove One Barrier Each Week
Commit to eliminating one friction point at a time.
Fewer barriers = stronger bonds.
Ikechukwu’s Journal
 | The world wants innovative leaders. But the world follows safe leaders. If you want to win as a modern leader: Don’t fight for dominance. Fight for relevance. Fight for trust. That is your real competitive advantage. |
If you enjoyed this week’s Leadership Pulse, all previous editions are available on Beehiiv, along with bonus insights, frameworks, and templates that you can apply immediately.
This Week’s Challenge
Choose one:
Challenge A: “The Baba Efe Test”
Ask yourself:
Would your clients queue quietly for you?
Would your team choose you even if options opened up?
Would people trust your word without verification?
If the answer is no, start building that today.
Challenge B: Identify Your “Peace of Mind Factor”
Complete this sentence:
“People come to me because I make them feel ______.”
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Ikechukwu Okoh
Author of the Leadership Pulse
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