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Inspiration

Keeping competition healthy

e all know that healthy competition is a It makes sense to be wow'd if a competitor achieves some-
good thing. It can spur us to be more aware thing extraordinary, but we shouldn't stay enthralled for
of market conditions, be better prepared long. We need to get to work. Love what we are doing.
W for presentations, improve our work ethic, Work from where we are right now. Innovate and improve
sharpen our focus and try new things. At its best, competi- what we can. Be better than we ever have been.
tion inspires us to heights we might never have dreamed
of had our competitors never existed. Walt Disney cap- Sometimes, we'll do our best and still suffer losses and
tured this when he said, "I have been up against defeats. There may even be negative media cov-
tough competition all my life. I wouldn't erage or rumors of our demise. But in the
know how to get along without it." end, the most important competitor
for each of us is our own self.
However, it's sometimes easy
to slide into unhealthy com- If we take each quarter and
petitive situations. Rather strive to make it better in all
than just studying what a the ways that matter most
competitor is doing and to us than the preced-
gaining ideas to adapt ing one, if we compete
creatively for our own against the best we've
business, we can take ever been, if we ap-
a negative tack in preciate what we're
several ways. For in- doing well and take
stance, we can com- educated risks, we
pare ourselves to the will continually im-
competition and feel prove. If we find like-
we are less than they minded people who
are. When taken to will support us and
its most extreme, we take leadership along
may conclude we'll with us, we'll be ex-
never grab even a sliver traordinary. And if we
of market share and stop think about the big pic-
trying to excel. ture—what will provide
a comfortable living for
We can also become extreme- us, as well as make the very
ly jealous, and instead of using best impact on the world—we'll
our intellect to improve our own be on the road toward leaving a
business, we waste time thinking meaningful legacy.
negative thoughts about our competitors
and plotting ways to outmaneuver them, even In the best sense, healthy competition means
if those actions aren't in our own or our clients' long-term healthy living, and maybe even down the road, a healthy
interests. planet for our children's children's children.
Another pitfall is when we are the top of our game, and
we assess the competitive field, determine no one is any-
where near as good as we are, get lazy and rest on our
laurels. This line of thinking leaves an opening for hungry
upstarts to come in and wipe us out.
What kind of competitor do you want to be?

So it's incumbent on all of us to act with awareness and Kate Gillespie, President and CEO
decide what kind of competitor we want to be, and what
type of impact we want to make in business and in all
other areas of our lives.

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