Oh, if only we didn’t have competitors to worry about – business would be so much easier! Have you ever heard someone say that or even thought it to yourself? Well let’s look at that thought more carefully…
Consider that word “worry”, it induces such a negative feeling. What would it be like if we changed the idea of “worrying” about what our competitors are doing to one of “being aware” of what they are doing? On the face of it, just a simple change in vocabulary but it leads to a major change in our mindset creating a much more useful and positive approach.
Worrying weighs you down, draining you intellectually and emotionally and sapping your energy in a very unproductive way. It also exposes you to the risk of letting the direction of your business be run by your competitors instead of by yourself. Track athletes will often talk about running their own race – setting out their plan on how they intend to perform, with the intention that the other runners will have to react to them rather than the other way around.
Of course, we do need to be aware of what is happening around us and where necessary adapt what we are doing or the way we are doing it – but is this because we want to beat whatever competition is there on the day or because we want to do business better?
One of the main reasons I fell in love with the martial art of traditional Kendo swordsmanship was because it taught the concept of doing it right, then doing it better. In eight years of training, there was only one competition. It was great fun, adrenaline filled, very exciting. But in his closing comments, our sensei(teacher, master swordsman) was at pains to point out to us that, in the excitement of competing, the standard of our technique dropped noticeably!
The training mindset was – learn to do it right, then practice and learn to do it better; concentrate on this and winning will be a natural outcome.
I recently saw an interview with one of the Strictly Come Dancing professionals. When it was suggested that she was very competitive, this dancer responded by saying that she was in competition with herself. She always knew when she could have done something better and always wanted to raise the bar and set new, higher standards for herself.
So, what to do – how to approach running a business in marketplace full of competitors? A big question and worthy of a book in response! But here are some starters…
Be in competition with yourself. It is just not good enough to go out and win a piece of business over your competitors. It’s a nice feeling but if left at that, all you have done is to be a bit better than the other guys that showed up on the day. What you must do now is to look at your own performance and ask “OK, but just how good was I, could I have been better?”
Now look closely at your customers – understand their wants, their needs and their fears. It is that understanding that will help you “do it right” and drive the development and growth of your business. The marketplace in which we all run our businesses changes continuously and we must be aware of those changes and how they will impact on those wants, needs and fears.
Focus on running your business – to be the best it possibly can be but do not be blinkered to what your competitors are doing. I had a WOW moment many years ago when I listened to a presentation that included these words; “Suffice it to say that what in others you find praiseworthy, you should copy; what in them you find defective, you should in yourself amend.” Wise words that I have found so useful in my own career.
Let it be you that drives the competition, not the other way around. Be smart – focus on doing it right, then learn to do it better – and stop worrying!