Crush the Competition!?

Is it really a good idea to crush the competition?  I'm not a fan of the run-away score.  Even if it is my team that is leading...well usually.  It is a little like watching the Varsity play the Elementary school team.  At first the scoring is exciting, then it feels unfair, then a bit like bullying.  I am especially uneasy when I know folks cheering for the other side. 

Competition is healthy.  In sports as in business if we don't have some true competition the victory if shallow.  Competition helps us work harder to get up to speed or so they don't catch us.  Competition makes us think about how we can improve our product, our process or our customer service. 

Competition can even cooperate with each other in a way that makes both sides the winner.  I went in to rent a room in a hotel one weekend.  The hotel did not have any vacancies.  But they asked us to wait a minute.  The front desk clerk called the competitive hotel across the street and made a reservation for us.  Now that was unexpected, very nice and as I left the full hotel I had only nice thoughts about them and their customer service.  I then went across the street to find my room all ready for me.  I had good thoughts about them as well.

But when I try to totally crush the competition at every turn a bitterness starts to grow inside me.  I don't want to help them in any way.  I have no ability to cooperate with them.  We remain distant and in a stalemate.  There are many instances where competing businesses can cooperate for the greater good.  Sometimes a job may be too big for you and you need the competition to help in order to satisfy the client.  Competitors need to work together for a much needed community project.  Competitors need to work together to help lawmakers when they are writing legislation for the industry. 

The competition in this political season has been brutal.  Now when all the legislators get back to work will they be able to draft legislation together or will every thing be us against them? 

I believe as Zig Ziglar said, "You can get everything you want if you help enough people get what they want."  That includes our competitors. 

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
www.transportationtraining.com