David T. Fagan: Cooperate Less and Compete More!

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There will be no political correctness, and some of my close friends will disagree with what I am about to say. The “Law of Abundance” is somewhat broken – or at least it can break you. Alright, before everyone holds hands around me in a circle singing kumbaya, let me explain.

Yes, there is enough out there for everyone.

Yes, you can get a lot from cooperating.

Yes, being friendly and professional is a must when it comes to every aspect of your business!

But somehow this common sense and decent approach to business has gone too far. You absolutely can and should…

1. Tell people how you are different
2. Tell people how you are better
3. And ultimately compete to win more business

And yes, this might just mean that if you are winning the business than someone else is losing. Yes, losing! And guess what? That’s okay! This is a free capitalist market. Find out what people want, and give it to them. We should all learn from our losses and become better organizations.

Who here wants to create an “unfair competitive advantage?” Every one of you should have said yes!

• Coke isn’t in a mastermind group with Pepsi
• McDonald’s doesn’t share a booth at a convention with Burger King
• Apple doesn’t send out emails for Microsoft

There is a time for cooperation and creating synergy. Just don’t blur the lines and lose track of who your competitors are. I believe in friendly competition. I believe in personally complimenting people on their success. Of course, I also believe in the “Law of the War Chest.” People only have so much money in their war chest to fight the battle of day to day business building. Thanks to the banks, credit lines, and the economy, that war chest has shrunk significantly. You are competing for that hard fought treasure that is now locked up and vigilantly protected.

The key to balancing cooperation and competition is focusing on others that are truly complimentary. Who knows who you want to know? Who reinforces what you do and sell? Cooperate less, compete more, and focus on complimentary.