Competitive advantages used to be the hallmarks of successful businesses. They were tangible, predictable and measurable. In other words, they could be clearly identified, there was no secret sauce to them. But not everyone had the resources to build them. It was mostly the big guys who were able to do this. Often years, if not decades, were required to build them. And once they had been built, they would last for many more decades. That's why people talked about sustainable competitive advantages.
