An Alternative View of Competition

This is part two of a post that I started on Friday.  Friday's post was about a view of competition in which there is a winner and a loser.  Check that out before reading this one.


Whether you are a Student, Athlete, Coach, Pastor, Teacher, Business Person or any other profession you will come across many situations where you have to compete.  You will be faced with a challenge, a game, a proposal.  Some type of situation where you will have to compete.  It could be a test, a game, a meeting, a church service, a presentation, a sales pitch, whatever.  You will be in competition.  Let's look at a different paradigm (way of viewing things) that relates to competition.  Here is the second way of viewing competition:

Open System/System can expand/Growth Based/Winning not determined by Outcome


-You are going through life learning, growing, training.  Then you meet an opponent (Test, Game, Presentation, Meeting, Confrontation with your kids or students whatever it is that you face in your daily life).  In this paradigm your success/failure is not determined by the outcome of the competition.  You are judged (by yourself) on how you performed.  Your success is determined by how close to our ability and potential to perform we came during the performance.  If the gap between our ability to perform and our actual performance is small we have been successful.  However, if the gap is large between what are capabilities are and how we actually performed we have failed.  This paradigm emphasizes being in control of what we can control.

In this paradigm some of the following things happen:

-We view our opponent as something/someone who can help us grow
-We are thankful for the challenge our opponent presents
-We are excited to test ourselves v. a tough opponent
-We embrace the opportunity to experience difficult circumstances
-Our focus is on being OUR Best, not being The Best
-We can focus on the things we can control and not on external factors
-We focus on being ready to compete at our top level instead of worrying about what our opponent is doing
-Our competition aids us in achieving our goal of being our best selves.
-This paradigm emphasizes enjoyment of the journey, not just the end result
-In this view we are free to create something new, to focus on being beautiful, not just successful (winning v. losing).  We are free to try new things and to grow.
-We compare ourselves only with our past selves.  We never use other people, teams or organizations as a comparison.
-We can use our program/team/organization to build up people.  We never have to use our people to build up ourselves.

Typical Goals within this Paradigm:

-Be our Best
-Play/Live with Character and Class
-Get Better Everyday
-Improvement over past self


Examples of those who Embrace this Paradigm:

-John Wooden - It shocks me how many coaches love to quote John Wooden but then have a coaching philosophy that is in stark contrast to what he taught.  Coach Wooden emphasized reaching ones potential and success as being defined as doing the best we can with what we got.
-Artists - Typically artists are trying to be their best.  Whether they are creating artwork, music or a symphony, artists desire to be their best, to create something new and better and to be beautiful.
-Myself v. Paul Melniczak in Tennis.  I played tennis with my college roommate many times each spring and summer while in college.  I estimate that my all-time record v. Paul was around 1 win and 75 losses.  I rarely could push him to a high level of stress on the scoreboard.  However, each time I played him I gained some insight and became a better tennis player.  My goal was to be better, not better than him.  As a result of all those losses (learning experiences) I became a much better tennis player.
-Apple Computers

For more information about how you can fully embrace this paradigm of competition I highly recommend "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek.  Also check out "Lead, for God's Sake" by Todd Gongwer.  Both books have had a huge influence on my views of competing and being MY Best.

One View of Competition

Whether you are a Student, Athlete, Coach, Pastor, Teacher, Business Person or any other profession you will come across many situations where you have to compete.  You will be faced with a challenge, a game, a proposal.  Some type of situation where you will have to compete.  It could be a test, a game, a meeting, a church service, a presentation, a sales pitch, whatever.  You will be in competition.  Let's look at one paradigm (way of viewing things) that relates to competition.  I will be posting "An alternative view of competition) later on.  Here is the first way of viewing competition:

Zero Sum/Winner-Loser/Finite/Winner Take All View of Competition

-You are going through life learning, growing, training.  Then you meet an opponent (Test, Game, Presentation, Meeting, Confrontation with your kids or students whatever it is that you face in your daily life).  At the end of the meeting with your opponent one person emerges victorious. This could be a big sale, a win in a game, a sale, a high score on an exam.  When we win we feel superior, when we lose we feel inferior.  Winners feel strong, losers feel weak.

In this paradigm some of the following things happen:

-We view our opponent as someone who must be beaten
-We view competition fearfully.  After all it is a chance to lose/fail.
-We do whatever it takes to win (Usually within the rules, but sometimes we fudge it a little because winning is so important)
-Our focus is put on Winning and Losing
-We don't care how we perform or play or how our opponent performs as long as we win
-A weak opponent is cherished because we don't have to expend as much energy to win
-Our preparation only focuses on beating this particular opponent
-We work and prepare hard enough to win.
-Being the best is determined by wins/losses.  Someone with many wins is far superior to someone with less wins.
-This paradigm is all about the destination - The next win.
-We view opponents as barriers to our success.  Something to be overcome.
-Being THE Best is our main focus.
-We typically use our resources and people to build our program.  We use our people to strengthen our position.  People are useful if they help us succeed, useless if they can't help us win.

Typical Goals of People who use this Paradigm:

-Win at all costs
-Win the Championship/Make the Big Sale/Be Better than everyone else
-Be on Top of your profession
-Earn visible reminders of your success - Trophies, nice car/house
-BE THE BEST
-Beat our Opponent


Prime Example of This Paradigm:

Vince Lombardi (Legendary Coach of the Green Bay Packers).  One of his famous quotes is "Winning isn't the main thing, It's the Only Thing."

Numerous other coaches at all levels of sports aspire to this type of mindset.  Most "successful" business people and leaders of large companies are also steeped in this paradigm.  My guess is that as you read this you could think of numerous coaches, leaders and bosses that you have had in the past who operate from this mindset.


**** Later I will post an Alternative view of Competition.  I am by no means pushing this mindset, just trying to shine light on the view that many people in life hold.  I am also not trying to disparage this mindset.

Check back later for the "Alternative View" to see which paradigm you currently operate from and how you would like to operate in the future.