Competitor can help sharpen skills, performance

We typically think of our competitor as someone who must be beaten at any cost. For a moment, at least, I would like you to think of your competitor as a friend and as a resource who will help you to sharpen your skills, better understand your own strengths and weaknesses and ultimately help to make you more successful.

Competition is a paradox. It creates great anxiety and forces some businesses into bankruptcy while at the same time it acts as the catalyst that fuels innovation, new product development and improved services. Competition is an unwelcome guest that disrupts the lives of many, but in the final analysis it benefits society as a whole by forcing corporate America to deliver more and better goods and services for less money.

After all, everyone knows that competition is a fundamental building block of our capitalistic system. Economic stagnation is the inevitable consequence of every effort on the part of our government to regulate and stifle competition. Deregulation, on the other hand, leads to economic growth and entrepreneurial opportunities. The competition resulting from deregulation also forces even the largest of companies to constantly improve their products and services, and to alter their business methods to benefit the consumer.

If you analyze any industry where one company has established a monopolistic position you will find reduced investment in research and development and a management arrogance that turns a deaf ear to the needs and desires of the consumer. In spite of these economic truths, some companies do their best to win by putting down their competition. A real winner carefully studies the competition and learns from them in an effort to improve performance. Real winners want to be the best of the best; they want to be world class!

My 10-year-old grandson insisted on playing in a basketball league with his brother even though he would be playing with and against players three years older than himself. When asked why, he replied: "It will make me better! I want to play against someone that will put their body on me and will hustle to block my shots." As a result of playing with and against excellent players much older than himself, he has consistently outperformed those of his own age.

We all know that a world-class tennis player doesn't develop the skills to be a champion by playing second-rate competitors. If he wants to be the champion, he must be challenged by players with equal or greater skills. Similarly, in business you must be prepared to face your strongest competitor head on and then beat him or her on the fundamentals of your game.

If, after a thorough analysis, you honestly conclude that you can't win because of your competitor's superior technology, financial strength, product quality, manufacturing capacity, brand recognition or market distribution, then go do something else. The sooner you make this discovery, the sooner you can get on another track where you have the potential to be a winner.

To use another sports analogy, you may find that you were not meant to be the quarterback on your team, and perhaps football isn't even your sport. Maybe you were meant to be a world-class tennis player.

At least for a moment, view your competitor as your friend. If you will thoroughly and honestly analyze your own strengths and weaknesses and the strengths and weaknesses of your challengers, you will become a stronger and more successful competitor. At the very least, you may be led to a different business model where you can find not only greater success, but also greater personal happiness and satisfaction.

David M. Brown is affiliated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. He can be reached via e-mail at cfe@byu.edu.

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