We’ve all heard that phrase many times. There’s a good chance you believe it. If so, how’s that attitude working out for you? Maybe not too well. And maybe you’re wondering if there’s a better way. April would say there is. A way that empowers you to better serve your clients. A way that’s more rewarding financially and more rewarding emotionally. A way that’s A LOT more fun! Want to find out what it is? Then listen now to the latest episode of the Winning Mindset Mastery Podcast.
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Listen to the podcast here
Business Is War. Or is it?
In the years that I have been in the business world, I have heard the term or phrase “business is war” more times than I care to count. I could not disagree with that statement any more than I do. I’ve heard it from folks both in the corporate world and other business people since starting my firm. I have never experienced that being a super successful way to go about building a business or a career. I am much more of a fan of coopertition. Technically, that’s a made-up word. I believed that I made it up. Someone may have said it before me, but I have been saying it for years.
When I was in my sales career and there were lots of those A, B, C people who were always be closing business is war. This is cutthroat. We’re in a competition. It wasn’t the way that I’d ever operated both because of my background with Sue Harper and the way that she’d helped me by generously pouring into me as a young person. Also, my mentality is that there’s plenty of business out there. You don’t have to be worried that if someone else wins, you lose.
Coopertition: There’s plenty of business out there. You don’t have to be worried that if someone else wins, you lose.
In coopertition, and this was something that helped my sales career when I was in the software industry, it is basically the idea that if I’m not able to help my client, then one of my competitors is probably a good person to help my client. It’s because they don’t do a bad job. They just do things differently than we do, but that may make them even better suited. In cases where it was a budgetary constraint or very rarely about features, sometimes they wanted a certain thing that my software didn’t have but I knew that the older software did. I would refer them to the people that I knew to be the best in that business, even though it was a competitor.
What is so interesting is it made sure that that client was taken care of. However, I ended up getting more referrals from the clients that I referred to other people and other competitors than I did even for my happy clients. I think the biggest reason for that is that they knew without a doubt if what I had wouldn’t serve the friends or colleagues that they were referring, I would send them to someone that would help. People have often asked me how I did so well in sales. The first part of it was I was always seeking to help, but a close second was that I saw competition as a coopertition. All of us, again, are seeking to do whatever is best for the client. That was incredibly career-rewarding for me, and it was incredibly financially rewarding. Life is full of opportunities for coopertition.
All of us are seeking to do whatever is best for the client. Life is full of opportunities for coopertition. Share on XI was speaking with someone who had 30-plus years as an officer in the military. Listening to him talking about meeting one of his lifelong friends when he was at the Pentagon and at that time they were both captains looking to make major. That’s one of those cutoff points as an officer where lots of people make captain, but making major is much more difficult, especially in a Pentagon assignment. Many times, there are only a few people that are going to be promoted.
What I loved was these two individuals decided instead of being cutthroat or trying to undermine each other, they were going to be the best captain they could be and both hoped to be promoted. You may say hope isn’t a strategy and that wasn’t a good idea. Here’s what’s interesting. They were better together by cooperating and by doing things that helped each other in a way that many of the other captains weren’t. They both were able to shine incredibly bright. Not only were they both promoted to major, they both continued on through their career and were given the opportunity to be generals. I think that mentality is a bigger reason for it because it makes you a better leader and team member and all of the people who are involved in your organization can feel that intent.
Coopertition: Cooperating and doing things that help each other makes you a better leader and team member, and all of the people who are involved in your organization can feel that intent.
I have even another example of how well this can work. I volunteer with an organization called Warrior Rising, which is the largest support organization for veteran entrepreneurs in the US. They are incredible and they help these veterans get their businesses off the ground and succeed in this new endeavor. If you’re a veteran and you want to check it out, please do. If you’re a business that loves to support veterans, please check it out as well.
What I was so incredibly inspired by was this business shower that we were doing where there were veterans who were all competing for a $20,000 grant for their business, and there were about fifteen of them. This is a competition. Only one person is going to win that grant. What I saw was every single one of those veterans helping each other on their presentations, helping them practice their pitch that they were going to do to myself and the other judges, helping them get better where that rising tide floats all boats. When the person who won was given the award and the grant, the faces of the other veterans, how excited they were for her, and the fact that she won.
Business success is not built on winning 1 or 10 clients. Business success is not going to be built on winning one grant. Business success is going to be built on your ability to build relationships because you can do absolutely everything else right. However, if you’re not great at building relationships, you’re never going to succeed to the level that you could. One of the ways that you can build amazing relationships in business and your life is to stop looking at it as a zero-sum game. It is not a competition. It’s a coopertition. By the way, when you look at it this way, you’re going to have more fun while you’re doing it too. Here’s to your success.
Coopertition: If you’re not great at building relationships, you’re never going to succeed at the level that you could.
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