We All Thrive When We Balance Between Healthy Competition and Community Harmony

We are built to compete. It makes us better. It makes our businesses better. It makes our nation better.

Think of the progress we’ve made as a country over almost two-and-a-half centuries. A theme of constant competition weaves throughout that history. The pioneers fought against nature. Early entrepreneurs vied for the same markets. Writers, artists, and other imagineers have confronted their own personal demons to produce outstanding work.

As author Nancy Pearcey said, “Competition is always a good thing. It forces us to do our best.”

Competition works because it drives us. So why do we see some bemoan it? Comedian Drew Carey explains it this way: “Some people don’t like competition because it makes them work harder, better.”

We need look no further than the fashion world, one of the most intense industries. One of the icons of that industry, Gianni Versace said, “It is nice to have valid competition; it pushes you to do better.”

But, just like The Force, competition can have a Dark Side. While communities benefit from healthy competition, they suffer from unchecked rivalry. Just look at our automobile industry. In the 1970s American car makers continued to act like they did in the 1950s. After World War II, no viable foreign competition existed. By the 1970s, these overseas manufacturers began selling their products in earnest. Meanwhile, our car companies felt they only had to outdo themselves. We now live with the consequences of these decisions.

Might things have been different if American companies had recognized they needed to work together not against each other? Maybe they should have followed the advice of famed business thought leader Stephen Covey, who said, “In the long run, if it isn’t a win for both of us, we both lose.”

Healthy competition motivates individuals, provides better products and services for consumers, and builds spirit by giving us the thrill of victory. When competition devolves into senseless greed, it erodes trust, divides the community, and allows outside communities to bolt ahead. True success lies in creating win-win situations that uplift everyone.

A great example of this victimizes us all. Worse, there’s little we can do about it. State leaders in Albany don’t think they need votes from elected officials in the Western New York Region to enact policies that impact us. Yet, too often our state officials compete against each other rather than work cooperatively to promote the needs of our citizens.

Well, that might be too much for any of us to take a bite out of right now. It’s better to focus on those things we can change. They’re small bites, but that’s the way you eat an elephant: one small bite at a time.

Creating win-win situations can power your community towards satisfying progress. To accomplish this, however, we all need to agree on our goal. It must be a collective goal, one that benefits all. It doesn’t have to benefit all equally because those who work hardest to achieve the win-win should accrue the bigger benefit.

One area stands out as a case where you can immediately make a difference by working collaboratively with others.

Notice what I did there. I didn’t call them “competition,” I called them “others.” Before you can do anything, you have to understand you aren’t in the middle of a zero-sum competition. There doesn’t have to be a winner and a loser. You can both be winners. That means these “others” aren’t competitors, they’re partners.

I’ll first define the case, provide the competitive environment, then suggest methods to find the win-win path.

This case I’ll discuss is the easiest example to follow. Almost all of us find ourselves in a position to advocate for and influence collaborative strategies. This case involves civic organizations, including churches, service clubs, and social fraternities.

The stark competitive environment reveals that each of these groups compete for the small group of citizens to fill their membership. It’s only natural to assume the zero-sum strategy: “Let’s get people to join our group instead of the other group.” Why the intense competition? Because there are two critical levels of membership in any organization: surviving and thriving. It’s much more fun to have a thriving group than one that merely survives. You can see why the zero-sum strategy is the natural go-to for these groups.

The trouble is most of these civic groups compare themselves to sister organizations in larger communities. Spoiler alert, our business chamber can never surpass the Greece Chamber of Commerce.

So, what can we do instead?

Again, if we focus on our mutual benefit—improving the community—instead of the narrow goal of improving your individual civic group, we can easily identify win-win scenarios.

Here’s the good news. We’re already doing it. How many of our civic organizations raise money and good for the local Food Pantry. This is an organic cooperation, not an intentional one. That means the groups haven’t purposely gotten together to collaborate on this. It’s accomplished naturally.

Still, it could be used as a springboard for more deliberate partnerships. Looking at the Food Pantry template, each of these associations hold modest events, usually involving their members and a few outsiders. These events raise the money that fund their group’s donations to the local Food Pantry.

What if civic associations work together on each of their annual events? These activities can then draw a bigger crowd (since each event will now attract members from other groups). They can all agree to donate to one or several specific community-oriented non-profits (for example, the Mendon Foundation, the Historical Society, etc…).

You still have the “competition” of individual events, but it’s more like each high school class working to build the best float for the homecoming parade. Each class is allowed to work on its own project. The community recognizes the best project. And everyone gets to enjoy a great parade under sunny skies.

In our local civic association win-win strategy, we create a series of thriving annual events that don’t require “supersized” membership. These thriving events will receive greater notice by the public, offer more opportunities to engage the public, and provide greater donations to local non-profits.

I guess that makes it a win-win-win!