I spoke recently with a friend of mine, Donovan Simpson. He is an entrepreneur who runs a farmer’s market, and he told me about his plans to expand his business. I asked him what steps he is taking towards realizing his goals.
He explained that he has been visiting all of the successful markets in the area and learning all he can about how they run their businesses. His theory is that you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel in business. Sometimes you just have to figure out how the good businesses do things and imitate them.
One of my dad’s critical rules for success was: “Don’t criticize; analyze.” This is a great way to approach looking at your competition in business.
As many of my regular readers know, I frequently write about some of the top performers in my industry and the philosophies and habits that make them successful. I have been very fortunate and grateful recently to realize how much respect the people in my industry have for one another, even though we are fierce competitors. But that’s not always the case.
Instead of focusing on what makes others in my industry top performers, I could become jealous and bitter. I could write about how I don’t like the way they do business, while ignoring the fact that their clients clearly do. People take this approach every day.
If I focused only on my criticisms, especially if they were driven primarily by jealously, I would miss the point. Individuals and companies who reach the top in this industry don’t get there by accident. Sitting around griping about them wouldn’t do anything to change the fact that they have something – a philosophy, a business practice, etc. – that makes clients want to work with them and that makes them more successful than everyone else.
But if I put aside jealously and bitterness and focused instead on what they do that makes them so successful, I could use the things I learn to improve my own skills and add to my own success. I could give credit where credit is due and acknowledge that sometimes you don’t have to reinvent the wheel in business.
You just have to figure out what the successful people are doing right, and then put your focus and energy into finding ways to incorporate those things into your own business.
Have a great weekend,
Ro
Ro, good article. My wife and I like to watch those “Impossible” shows (you know, Restaurant Impossible, Hotel Impossible, etc) where entrepreuners get themselves into financial trouble. Invariably, they blame “The Economy”…all the while their competitors around them are doing very well!! Just as invariably, the fix-it guy takes a look at a web page where customers have provided invaluable insight into service shortcomings and failures. Instead of “critiquing” the economy or customers who “don’t get who we are”, they would be better served to do the analysis you mention: look at the critiques AND look at your more successful competition. Then analyze where you are missing the mark and how you can not necessarily copy others, but adapt their successful methods into your business. Keep up the good work!
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