In the heat of competition, costly mistakes can be made in an adrenaline-induced state.
Decision errors, miscalculations, and overreactions can follow. Competitor animosities fuel chest-beating displays of machismo.
It is easy for decision makers to become fixated on beating their competitors, especially in pursuit of long-wanted prizes.
Competitive arousal can be helpful. It can stimulate:
- spending to win
- refinements and improvements to get past competitors
- putting in the extraordinary effort it may take to gain strategic and tactical advantage.
Competing makes sense when:
- costs of winning are commensurate with, or much less than, what is to be gained
- winning a particular contract will do long term damage to your close competitor/s and so weaken their ability to compete with you in the future
- you have no choice - it’s essential to “bet the business”.
Don’t let good judgement be clouded by competitive arousal.
Watch for these signs. If you notice them, it’s time to put competitive arousal in check, guaranteed all drawn from first-hand real life situations I’ve observed:
- showing off in the spotlight in front of other professionals with a “you didn’t think I had this in me”
- “if we just win this one at any price, from here on it will improve”
- “I’m going in hard here on price – one last time”
- “I deserve this business - no matter what I’m going to give up to get it”
- “it doesn’t matter if it isn’t a good deal - it’s winning that matters right now”.
In closely competed markets - and there are many in law and other professions - rational decision making sometimes goes out the window.
When rivalries are most intense, desire to win and do damage to one or a few close competitors can impair your decisions.
You can avoid dysfunctional competitive arousal by:
- putting this competitive situation in its proper perspective
- focusing on winning a good fair deal rather than simply a win - I often refer to it as “not winning the poison chalice”
- not denigrating (ascribing all characteristics evil) one’s competitors - rather, regarding at least some competitors as probably capable and possibly worthy
- have a second pair of eyes, unconnected with the competition at hand, confirm price and timelines as reasonable
- investing time in revisiting price at least twice during a bid process - with a minimum of overnight in between, to coolly re-examine it all.
Avoid the perilous mix of time pressure and competitive arousal. Winning isn’t everything if the true cost is losing long-term.
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