Competing at anything is never easy and it either brings out your best or your worst. The key is to empower and energize your team in a way that creates an atmosphere of competitiveness, that is normally an unsaid sort of thing. I’ve been in meetings with other companies where they are promoting their competitiveness in ways that exhibit more bravado than tangibility. Boasting about how you are going to annihilate the next guy is nothing more than a bunch of hot air and doesn’t inspire a soul. At least not those who don’t need a bunch of manufactured, pump you up, swashbuckling.
From what I’ve experienced, people know if you are competitive or not. They can sense it, so you don’t need to hand everyone a copy of Sun Tzu’s, the Art of War. Tzu said, “The quality of a decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.” While I get that way of thinking, I must ask the question; Is this “take no prisoner” approach better for your team members, valued clients or partners?” I think not. I am as competitive as anyone, and when playing sports growing up, we used to say, “They may win, but they’ll wear the scars for life.” Of course, that is an obvious tongue and cheek type of statement, but you get my drift. We were highly competitive. Here's the deal, there is enough work for all those who are proficient at what they do. A little competition makes for a better experience for all participants within the infor ecosystem, because it keeps standards high and everyone on their toes.
At GlobalStar Consulting, we don’t think about or even discuss our competition. We just look in the mirror. We are our own competition! Like compound interest, we self-compete to become a little better every day, in every way. We don’t allow circumstances outside of our control to affect how we operate, instead we adhere to our own measures, and those measures are higher than any outside force could conjure up. We start by aligning with individuals who hold themselves to a higher standard and expect nothing less than excellence in all they do. And, we ensure that our team environment is conducive to upholding those individual expectations as well as collective greatness. This creates a chemistry that allows us to do the extraordinary.
