You know the story. Everyone knows the story. And, of course, everyone knows the moral of the story.

But what if - now, just hold on a second, here - but what if the story went the other way…what if the rabbit won?!?

It’s not inconceivable, you know. True, the race isn’t always to the swiftest or the strongest…er, I mean, yes it is! Turns out the race goes to the swiftest and the strongest pretty much every single time.

(Not the biggest, though. Take GM, for instance. The bigger they come, the harder they fall.)

Unless you are having a race for last place, in which case the fastest and toughest will likely fail miserably, can you think of an example where speed and strength aren’t preferred for a favorable outcome? The 50 yard dash? Nope, speed and strength needed. Baseball? Speed and strength, check. Running a small business? I’ll take speed and strength, thanks.

Even if you are quick and pumped, clearly break the tape way out in front, and your name is Apple, the instant replay can make for a loooooooooooong day.

Exhibit B: web sites #1 and #2 were not so long ago small businesses in their own right (crazy!), yet they continue to face major, major issues with click fraud. How will Yahoo! and Google deal with the situation? Not sure, but I can promise you it won’t have anything to do with resting by the side of the road knowing full well that the slower competitors are slowly chipping away at their lead.

Oh sure, speed and strength don’t always guarantee victory. Hence our well-known parable. The rabbit didn’t lose because he was slow and weak. But strongest can also mean smartest, and if there’s one thing we can say about the rabbit, it’s that he wasn’t the smartest.

And if there is something else we can say about the Rabbit - and smarts - it’s that VW finally figured out Golf isn’t as good a name for a car…finally!

But I digress. The point of today’s blog – and it’s a fairly recurrent theme in anything you devote yourself to – is that, with rare exception, victory truly does go to the best-prepared and the best-trained; also known as the most deserving.

OK, so it’s inaccurate to say that the tortoise doesn’t ever have a chance. Plus, who doesn’t love the underdog, right?

Cue my favorite Small Business Made Big this week, the venerable ant farm. Turns out a 40 year run on the toy shelves is nothing to sneeze at.

So it’s possible for slow and deliberate to pull it off after all.

I didn’t say slow and distracted, note.

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