Collaboration in an Age of Competition
I have to say I've lost count of the number of times I've heard the line.....'a little healthy competition never hurt anyone'!
If we analyse this statement across our long history it simply does not stand up.
"Be it physically or emotionally, competition has in truth hurt many"
Competition puts person against person, or worse, group against group. We see it in school playgrounds, in workplaces, within government bodies, on the sporting field, between religions.....the list goes on. In fact if we are honest, competition is everywhere, and it does more harm then we care to acknowledge.
Competition always leads to disharmony.
Collaboration on the other hand is the glue that brings people and societies together. It leads to greater harmony and sees people working together.
In relation to business and industry, collaboration is definitely something we need to see more of.
In my role as marketer, I hear a lot of my clients talk about 'what the competitors' are doing. "I have to watch out for my competitors"....with the usual justifying line 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer".
Who says that just because someone has chosen the same industry as ourselves that that automatically makes them an enemy? Is it possible we make them this out of our own insecurities, jealousies or desire to be better than?
We need to talk more about this not only in our workplaces but in our homes as well. It is time we start to break down the tensions that competition has seen us living for too long, and instead explore the the many benefits collaboration has to offer.