Healthy Competition

I just came across an exerpt from the book Flight of the Buffalo [Belasco/Stayler] in one of my e-mails this morning:

"Love your enemy as your best friend. Enemies are very valuable. They help you organize and focus on what must be done. Part of the leader's job is to use competitor's actions as a way to focus individuals on great performance for their customers.

I learned this lesson by chance. My specialty chemical company was doing very well. After struggling for several years we had identified and dominated a number of highly profitable niches. We were on easy street, and that was the trouble. We became careless. Quality slipped. Deliveries were "just a little late". We were a little slow returning phone calls. We had eased off. My exhortations to "shape up" fell on deaf ears.

Then "It" happened as it always does. A competitor came from out of nowhere and began to take market share, initially not so much as to worry anyone. Then the message came home when one of our oldest customers "fired" us in favor of the new kid on the block. When I called the customer to ask why, the answer was direct and simple. "You stopped taking care of me and my problems", she said. "They're going to do what you used to do for me only at a lower price." The message was a two-by-four across the forehead.

I put the customer's comments on the [company wide] email. The usual fire storm of doubts and accusations followed. "She's wrong! We took care of her. We're probably better off without her. Just wait, she'll be hack because the new kid on the block doesn't have the resources or staying power we do."

I let the storm run its course, then pointed out the significant immediate financial loss to each and every one of pocketbooks. I asked them to consider what would happen if other customers took the same action. "Can you really afford this?" I asked patiently and persistently, "Do you really want this situation?

The people saw the need to prevent this situation from happening again. They galvanized into action. They went out and visited the customer. They resolved that they'd never let this happen again and changed our systems to get regular customer feedback.

That competitor did us a great favor. He was able to convince us to keep our guard up. He move mountains in the organization with the simple act of winning one customer.

Competitors easily become the greater enemy against which we can all rally. Why fight with the person in the next office when there is someone outside the gates looking to destroy us all. I learned to use my competitors as a weapon to keep everyone in my organization, including myself, from getting complacent."