When you build a business, obviously there is almost always competition especially if it is an demand service or product. Outsiders often decry that this competition is cut throat and sometimes ends in amoral activity.
I’ve built a company that according to the statistics is in the top 1/2 of 1% of all businesses in the country. I say that only to tell you that I’ve seen this from the inside.
I have had competitors that have resorted to some pretty amoral activities to try to gain an edge. This however is more reflective of the type of people they are than the natural of the game of business.
Here is the reality of the situation, in order to get a product like mine out to the market involves an enormous amount of cooperation from people as remote from me as farmers, machine manufacturers, plant workers, shipping companies, warehouse employees, distributors, truckers and the list goes on and on. This is all cooperation and it’s amazing. I have met people and gained friendships I never would have.
You can be narrow focused and lose this perspective if you get bogged down in making this a game revolving around ego, or you can see it as an exercise in cooperation. By the numbers, it most certainly is.
CARP'S BLOG 