Competition

I have talked before about Thomas Friedman's wonderful book, The World is Flat. In short, the theme of the book is global, economic competition. The term superpower is becoming extinct as more countries are becoming a slice of the economic pie.

Some of you are feeling and experiencing this as your product or service competes with companies in India, China, and Mexico. Others read about it and know it is an issue but aren't overly concerned since it doesn't personally affect them.

If you don't buy the idea of global competition in business certainly you can see it in the world of sports. Forever, the United States has dominated the sports world. Heck, we invented baseball and basketball. In basketball, we always won the gold medals. Remember in 1972 when the Russians beat the United States for the gold medal in basketball? The win was extremely controversial but was more shocking in the fact the we lost. We never lost in basketball! But we did.

Now, it is becoming the norm for us to lose in world competitions. Our men's basketball team recently finished third in the world basketball championships. Our golf team recently lost in dramatic fashion to their European competitors in the Ryder Cup.

So for the business world, the perfect analogy exists in sports. You just can't "show up" anymore and expect to win or stay in business. There are more people and companies in the world that are striving for what you have and want. Their skills are equal or better than yours. In some cases, they are hungrier than you. This is new to them. To succeed on a world stage. Wow!

As individuals, it is important that we constantly improve our skill set. How? Read new and interesting books. Attend a class at a local technical college. Volunteer in your community. Go back to school for a masters degree in a subject you love. Blog on the internet. Attend seminars.

As companies, we must nuture our employees and help them continuously improve their skills. The thought of a thirst for self development within a company is wonderful and should be the goal of any leader responsible for others.