Hindsight from 2020: Strategies for the New Normal

These days, you can find a slurry of memes and motivational graphics on social media alluding to the concept that you must always beat out your competition in business. But contrary to popular belief, competing with other businesses is actually quite counterproductive, especially in the post-pandemic “new normal” we face — something we never expected to be facing as we entered this new decade.

No matter what your angle for competing — whether it be affordability or uniqueness of goods or services, quality, time of completion, or anything else — the truth of the matter is that when you benchmark against a competitor, you will only ever be as good as the competition.

So even when you’re in the lead, whatever “the lead” means to you, someone else eventually catches up. In turn, this makes you compete even more. Unfortunately, the majority of companies are so focused on competing that they’re locked in a losing battle — a vicious cycle of one-upmanship.

Seek Advantage Instead of Competition

Contrary to competing, a better strategy is to seek advantage. In order to do so, this means redefining and reinventing your company, your products, or your services so you can jump ahead and more importantly, stay ahead.