Stop Competing With Your Competition

Chicago lost one of its all-time media icons last Thursday when legendary film critic Roger Ebert passed away after a long battle with cancer.

What does this have to do with being a successful small business owner?

I’m glad you asked…

Ebert is best-known for the hit movie-review television show he co-hosted with Gene Siskel for over 13 years, until Siskel’s way-too-premature death in 1999. A “thumbs-up” from either host – or both – was known to instantly and significantly boost box office sales, while “two thumbs down” would often doom a film to utter failure.

The success of the show was extraordinary (especially considering it aired on public television in an era when “The Big 3” networks dominated the airwaves), as these two unassuming, “ordinary” people built themselves into becoming a universally known and respected part of the American culture.

But the most remarkable thing about the show contains the valuable lesson for all small business owners, entrepreneurs and sales professionals:

Siskel and Ebert put aside their long-time, arch rivalry as film critics for the competing Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times newspapers to collaborate as co-hosts of their own television show.

Did you catch the important business lesson?

For maximum success, you need to think “collaboration” – not “competition.”

Thoughts of competition dominate the thoughts and actions of most small business owners.

But once you start thinking in terms of collaboration instead, a whole new world opens up for you – one of bigger opportunities and less frustration.

Here are just a few examples…

Movie Industry

While it’s certainly true that actors routinely “compete” with each other to earn coveted roles, by definition they must also “work together” in order to create great films. Think about the overall tone of the Academy Awards television broadcast, where we’ve grown used to hearing comments like “I’ve worked with so-and-so – she’s a true pro” and “It’s a lifelong goal of mine to work with what’s-his-name” for hours on end.

Hmmm…. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the whole show was really just one big love-fest instead of a competition. (*They even got rid of the famous phrase, “And the winner is…” a few years ago.)

Professional Sports

Sure, teams all “compete” on the playing field. But a league can’t exist without multiple team owners all working together. Players and coaches routinely move from team to team throughout their careers, and everyone shares in revenue created by the league as a whole, from television contracts to apparel sales. Even players in “individual” sports know that they all benefit from the celebrity and mass appeal of their sport’s superstars.

Before and after games, “fierce combatants” can be seen joking around, congratulating each other, wishing one another the best and even huddling together in group prayers. Then there’s each league’s annual All-Star Game, where supposed arch-enemies are suddenly playing side-by-side on the same team, high-fiving each other after great plays and appearing to be lifelong best buddies.

I remember as a young kid seeing photos of superstars with captions like “Yankee star Joe DiMaggio and Red Sox hero Ted Williams trade hitting tips outside the batting cage before the game” and wondering to myself “Hey! They’re not supposed to be helping each other – they’re arch-rivals!” Sadly, most small business owners still have that naive, childish, counter-productive view of the business world.

Business Seminars

Surely, you’ve either attended – or at least heard of – small business conferences with multiple speakers. They’re each trying to sell their own “stuff,” and sometimes several speakers at the same event each present their own solution to the same problem. They “compete” for the limited attention, affection and funds of the audience, and to see who will be the “Best Speaker” at the event. But they also know that “sharing the stage” with each other is a benefit to all of them – attracting more attendees to the seminar and elevating everyone’s expert status as well.

Television

Remember when all we had to chose from were “The Big 3” networks, plus a few channels you had to adjust the rabbit ears properly just to be able to watch without all the fuzziness?

Then along came cable, and the networks freaked out.

After years of trying to figure out how to compete with all the hundreds of choices viewers had when they plopped down in front of the “boob tube” every night, the networks finally wised up.

• Now “NBCUniversal” includes a dizzying worldwide array of stations, including NBC-TV, MSNBC, CNBC, ShopNBC, Telemundo, Bravo, The Weather Channel, USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel and many more.
• The “Disney-ABC Television Group” is comprised of ABC-TV, ABC Family, LWN, A&E, The Disney Channel, Lifetime, all the ESPN channels and more.
• “CBS Corporation” now includes SpikeTV, The CW, Country Music Television, Showtime, TV Guide Network and others.

Gives a whole new meaning to “let’s change the channel,” doesn’t it?

Music Industry

Legendary recording stars like Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett have had massive success with their “Duets” albums – collaborative efforts from multiple singers all in constant competition to be “Number One On The Charts.” Multiple-band concerts like Woodstock, Live Aid, Lollapalooza and many others provide life-long memories for performers and fans alike. Relatively-unknown, up-and-coming bands routinely get their big breaks playing as “warm-up acts” to concert-headlining superstars. And mega-popular television shows like American Idol and The Voice couldn’t possibly exist without a group of “competitors” gathering together to create hours of drama – plus a little singing as well.

Online Affiliate Marketing

Have you ever gotten more than one email alerting you to the latest “internet marketing magic button” that promises to change your life and produce massive, instant, easy online profits? Many unsuccessful “internet marketers” think in terms of competition between similar products and services, but the most successful ones are always looking to work together to promote each other and help each other become even more successful and wealthy. They routinely sell each others’ products, speak at each others’ events and even create information products together.

So what does all of this have to do with a typical small business?

Here’s the point…

Even if you’re not a superstar athlete or recording star, you can benefit tremendously from thinking in terms of collaboration – not competition.

Take some time to figure out how you can work together with other small business owners, instead of seeing them as enemies, so that everyone can benefit.

Here are just a few ways you can collaborate with your fellow small business owners…

• Hold a seminar or trade show
• Publish a magazine, newsletter or book
• Host a directory/review website
• Share marketing and advertising costs
• Establish referral/co-promotion relationships

Always remember the example set by legendary bitter-rivals-turned-partners-and-friends Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. As Ebert wrote in his “Remembering Gene” article on his website a little over four years ago, on the 10th anniversary of Siskel’s passing: “If we were fighting – get out of the room. But if we were teamed up against a common target, we were fatal.”

That’s sound advice for all small business owners.

My wish for you is to stop fighting against your “competitors” and start teaming up against a common target: the goals of serving your customers and generating revenue and profit.