Marcus Straub
Over the years, I’ve met with many business owners who’ve lost their way in the face of competition with other companies. They’ve taken on negative attitudes toward these businesses and their owners, especially when those businesses have outperformed their own or have come to town and taken market share they once dominated.
In these situations, I’ve even seen business owners become angry with former customers and clients for exercising their power of choice as consumers and going with what they perceive as the better value provided by the competition. Having a negative mindset isn’t necessary or helpful and will lead to the loss of more customers and market share.
Focusing your extremely valuable time, energy and focus on what other companies might or might not be doing and being negative about their success will ultimately limit yours. This mindset will also decrease the amount of happiness you can experience in operating your business and must be replaced with a more effective way of thinking.
In reality, all businesses in a given market vie for the loyalty and patronage of a limited number of customers. Rather than becoming embittered by others doing business in the same sector, choose to be empowered: Control what you can — how you, your team and your company operate on a daily basis — and let the rest go. The wise choice is to be better than you were the day before, to reach for excellence in your business operations.
Focus on your own business and study how it operates. Evaluate the effectiveness of your leadership, consider the performance of your managers and entire team, look at the quality of the products and/or services you offer and discover where you can improve. By taking this action-oriented approach, you’ll fuel your progress to the next level because your attention will be solidly focused on how you can stand out in the marketplace through becoming the very best company you can be.
It might be in your best interest to work with a qualified professional business coach and consultant to help you discover where you can make significant improvements and implement the action steps necessary to be an exceptional company. The organizations I work with have found this to be a powerful approach. Greater clarity can be achieved through a third party that will work alongside you to explore your business from top to bottom with a neutral and objective point of view.
Once you’ve discovered where you can improve, it’s vital you and your team work together to swiftly implement the corrective solutions that have been agreed upon. If you want to lead the way in customer satisfaction and loyalty — if you want to stand out in your sector and grow — necessary changes must be made and followed through to completion. Here again, an effective third party can offer a strong resource in getting the job done and done well.
Every business owner I’ve worked work with across the country has found this self-focused and self-accountable approach to be not only effective, but also liberating. They’ve discovered the freedom, empowerment, success and happiness that can only be possible with undistracted attention placed upon their own operations and the task of creating great companies.
As you shift your focus back to your business, you’ll quickly notice how much more you’re able to accomplish with the added resources you were previously leaking to your competition. And once you’ve implemented the changes that will take your company to new heights, you’ll enjoy the increased happiness and success that come with these improvements.
There are only two approaches to viewing marketplace competition. You can become negatively focused on others in your sector and take yourself and your company away from the success you desire to experience or you can turn your attention toward your own company and potential success. The second is a self-disciplined approach that will position you to face the reality of how you can improve your business operations, make effective changes and enjoy the fruits of your powerful efforts.
Be wise in your choice here, seek out any professional help you might need, reach for excellence and build the best company you can.
