You MUST Compete to Win!
Life is a rat race. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you didn’t have to compete all the time? What if everyone in traffic always offered to let the other driver go first? What if all of your co-workers just wanted to get along, and no one was trying to ruthlessly get ahead? I mean, as Rodney King said, “…can we all just get along?”
Well, let’s think about that for a minute…
Suppose that a football reformer observed the obvious fact that the object of the game is to make touchdowns. This would lead immediately to the important discovery that if the two teams would only cooperate, hundreds of touchdowns could be made in a game, while only one or two of them are made when each opposes the other.
- Thurman Wesley Arnold
The Folklore of Capitalism
There is no sport without competition.
And let’s examine the traffic scenario previously mentioned. If everyone in traffic was waiting for everyone else, no one would get anywhere! Just think about the 90 year old lady who is too timid to enter the freeway on ramp in front of you. That drives you crazy, right? Imagine everyone being that non-agressive. No, I think you want drivers like me sharing the road with you, because I’ll be out of your way in no time.
How about work? If none of your co-workers were trying to get ahead, they would likely put out very low quality work (if any at all). You wouldn’t be able to rely on them to meet deadlines, do difficult research, or probably even show up to work.
Actually we need competition. It’s built into the DNA of humanity, and it is this very characteristic which makes us dominant and keeps the species progressing forward. So, if you want to be successful, it’s time to embrace the fact that both you and your business need to develop the attitude that it’s a dog eat dog world, and you’re wearing milk-bone underwear!
4 Ways to Nurture a Competitive Attitude
- Choose a common enemy. Your employees need a common enemy. Pick a competitor and make it your companies goal to drive them into the ground. Make sure everyone gets behind the effort, but keep it somewhat light hearted. No need to be mean, nasty or cut-throat.
- Offer incentive based pay. Change the way you financially reward employees. Either shift part of their base to an incentive program, or offer bonuses for those who contribute above and beyond. But make sure there is a chance to earn real money. Small incentives do nothing.
- Share performance reports publicly. You probably measure some sort of stats for your business, so start publishing non-critical reports where everyone can see them. Sales rankings, production reports, customer service polls – or anything that motivates teams and individuals to compete.
- Institute monthly recognition programs. Employee of the month works! So does simple public recognition in front of your peers. In fact, let them vote on who the winner should be! They’ll begin competing to be the most helpful towards one another!
What other ways do you try and keep the competitive fires burning?
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The 90-year-old really frosts me, but so does the 19-year old who passes everyone on the left shoulder in a traffic jam because his time is more important than ours. Competition must be fair, or it’s nothing more than anarchy.
I really like your 4 competition enticements, but I tend to think that 1, 3, and 4, would be pretty meaningless without #2, unless, of course, we’re talking about a non-profit organization. I’ve worked for employers who rewarded monetarily for helping them improve the bottom line, and that was a far sight better than the ones who give you a certificate of some type while only the executives’ pockets get padded. (While they’re certainly within their rights to do so, it’s certainly not motivational.)
Thanks for another thought-provoking read, John. Enjoyed the first part of Episode 3 last night and looking forward to finishing this evening.
Grace and peace,
Sean