It was Dr. Strive Masiyiwa who wrote: One of the most important things that will help you build your business will surprise some of you. It’s called Competition! A few years ago, I came across a podcast called Business Wars. I was so excited by it that I spent two weeks going through all of them, some 60 episodes at the time! Good thing it was during my holidays! It details the history of great companies and the competitors that made them great companies, for example: Coca-Cola vs Pepsi; Estée Lauder vs L’Oréal. Epic battles between well-matched entrepreneurs and their companies. These companies fought using one primary tool: INNOVATION!
If you are a football fan, you will know that competition is what makes the team great: Imagine Barcelona and no Real Madrid? Or Manchester United and no Liverpool?! Personally, I have never enjoyed the German or French Leagues because they are dominated by one team, whereas the EPL has at least six teams that could challenge for top spot.
Every season, you can see the #Innovations that coaches are trying out to get on top of their competitors. This makes the game more exciting for fans and grows their businesses!
There is an excellent Netflix mini-series called “Sprint” which came out before the last Olympics and follows the intense competition between the runners from America and Jamaica. It is one of my favourite shows ever!
A lot of entrepreneurs in Africa don’t really appreciate that competition is a good thing for their business. Some will go to extraordinary lengths to stop competitors rather than using #Innovation. They will even approach politicians and regulators to try to make it difficult for a competitor in one way or another.
State-owned companies throughout Africa are notorious for using power politics to stop competitors, and yet do very little to #Innovate with products that delight customers.
If you need power politics to help you grow your business, it will be difficult for you to be recognised as a great entrepreneur, even though it might make you rich. There is a thriving industry in some African countries of “juju priests” who specialise in “helping” business people curse or harm their competitors! These are not entrepreneurs. And this is a form of idiocy by the way!
To beat your competitor and grow at the same time: you must #INNOVATE to create new #Products and constantly improve what you have.
Some of you who have studied business in school know that companies fight for “competitive advantage” in many ways like:
I. Cost leadership
II. Differentiation.
III. Focus.
IV. Reputation.
V. Strategic partnerships.
Of all these, INNOVATION is the most important and… can also be added to each of the above! Now here are some #ACTION steps for you this weekend: First, sit down and list your competitors, then carefully examine their #Products: What do THEY do, and how YOU respond #INNOVATIVELY-speaking to create more value where it counts? How is your product #Different and #Better? Remember: most investors look for “competitive advantage.” Imagine I ask you to name your competitors and list all the INNOVATIONS you have launched over the past three months? How would you answer me? If you just pause, umm and ahh… I will move on!
Quote: If you have had to lobby a powerful politician to help you stop a competitor, shame on you!
