Do you consider your business in purely competitive terms? Often it is the way we’re programmed to think.
There could be a more balanced view available. Each day we witness moments of empathy, understanding and cooperation. It’s a basic part of human nature. People on the tube, bus and train offer their seat to someone who needs it more. Much of society revolves around family units where groups of individuals cooperate around their individual boundaries, every minute of every hour. We have Wikipedia where complete strangers share knowledge globally to help each other.
Yet so much messaging suggests this shouldn’t be the norm. It’s said that pure competition, basically conflict with rules, is what we should strive for. Of course we rose to the top of the food chain for various reasons and competition was central to this. We evolved from creatures that killed to eat whilst avoiding being someone else’s dinner. That isn’t really today’s society though, is it?
There are exceptions - sport an obvious example where we test ourselves against others, in either individual or team form. Most professional teams have more than one player vying for the same position. These players drive each other to be the best they can be, to be the first name on the team-sheet. In individual sports our rival helps us to raise our own personal bar as we strive to better the target they set. So even in such competitive arenas, cooperation and collaboration remain crucial to success.
Too much dialogue in business adheres to the trope that “competition is king”. Mass media tells us we’re in a “global race” with only winners and losers. This messaging fundamentally sets us against one another at every level from local to international. In doing so it denies us opportunities to share knowledge and to learn. But we should grasp these opportunities to see where the knowledge and thinking of others can lead us.
As individuals we can be open about our competitive nature whilst seeking to cooperate. We can emulate the sports teams who drive each other on. We can compete with ourselves, by setting personal targets to cooperate better. As businesses we can share our ideas, practices and learning with enthusiasm.
Many businesses confirm that they collaborate because they know it’s the expected answer. If we’re honest, are we doing it as much as we could?
Humans need a reason to do things – a purpose. We’ve been competing because our leaders have told us to. However when you see that humans naturally cooperate, and it’s good for us all, then you can reset your purpose.
Make cooperation your purpose at home, at work, everywhere because that is your natural state. Remind yourself of this reset purpose every day. Embrace it and be an example to those you live and work with.
