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What I find very interesting is when companies announce themselves as number one or beating their competition. The metrics that they’ve chosen are their own. In other words, it’s arbitrary. It’s a fool’s errand. It’s a short-term game, and it doesn’t actually advance the organization or advance innovation. Is it profit? Is it market share? Is it revenues? Is it square footage? Is it number of employees? What’s the timeframe? Is it a month, is it a quarter, is it a year, is it five years, is it ten years? And who else has agreed to those standards that you would be number one?
I was sitting in the back of a taxi with a very senior Apple executive once. It was many years ago, and I’d been given as a gift the new Zune, which was Microsoft’s competitive product to the iPod back in the day. And this thing was gorgeous. It was flawless, this Microsoft technology was so user-friendly, it was intuitive. It was one of the most elegant pieces of technology I’ve ever used. And so, just to stir the pot, I say to this Apple executive, “You know, Microsoft gave me the new Zune, and it’s so much better than your iPod touch.” And he looks at me and he says, “I have no doubt.” Conversation over.
Because what great organizations understand is, sometimes you’re a little ahead and sometimes you’re behind. And sometimes you have the best product and sometimes you don’t. The best companies, the ones that truly frustrate their competition, are the ones who compete against themselves. And they’re so focused on being better than themselves that they let everybody else do their own thing. And it’s not about winning every battle, it’s about winning the war. Is it important to look at your competition? Tactically, yes. Strategically, no. It’s not about waking up to be better than everybody else every morning. It’s about waking up to be better than yourselves every morning. It’s literally an infinite opportunity of growth. Because what happens if you’re number one, based on your arbitrary standards? Now, you’re in defensive mode. That’s the worst place to be.