Classic Tortoise and The Hare Illustration

On Monday, I somehow talked my husband, Chris, into going to the gym with me for my usual 5:30 am swim. Considering that it was his day off, this was a wonderful accomplishment. I wanted him to accompany me to give me feedback on my stroke since I seem to swim so slowly (1-1/2 minutes to finish a lap). Now remember: I only swim because I hate it and refuse to let it get the best of me. This is also the reason I participate in sprint triathlons - masochism as motivation. So, I got into the pool and did my 18 slllooooowwww laps. Chris got in the pool, did a lap....rested...floated on his back...rested...etc. When he did his laps he was always faster than me but, needless to say, he did not complete the 1/2 mile workout. So, of course I find the business relevance for this experience.

It is the classic Tortoise and The Hare theme - slow and steady wins the race. But how do you prevent yourself from panicking when you see the competitor swimming by? How do you know that they are running out of steam. My last memory of Chris swimming was 10 years ago on our honeymoon when I had to sit and watch enviously as everyone swam from our boat to a floating bar. He confidently swam without looking back. Those are the memories that you have when you remember your friendly competitor's strength and dominance in the past - and you can't let that prevent you from participating in the competition. I use the excuse at least once a day: "oh, we won't bother with that RFP because we are up against those 'big guys' and we won't be able to beat their bid price" Often that IS the case, but if we don't try how will we find out when an opportunity truly exists? I sat with a great colleague today who reiterated how great it would be if we just got one major client on retainer. My excuse for not expending the energy: "oh, they only want the big guys". I am my own worse enemy. My memories of my husband's strength prevents me from competing - when in reality, my husband has lost that edge, and the only way that I would know this is by getting into the pool with him.

So, it is time to jump off that starting block and get into the midst. I have taken my swimming lessons and I am improving every day. Competitors beware.

BTW: This is my new challenge. To hold the pose in this picture for at least 15 seconds. I will let you know when I accomplish this feat - because I will ;-)

Walk Like A Man, Talk Like A Man

Maybe I should just start a series of blogs about "thinking like a man". It is interesting that I associate actions of deception or mean thoughts with the male species - but I am jealous of their ability to act and think about feelings later. Along those lines, I did a "man act" today - and I am proud of myself. I found out that our competitor sold itself to another competitor. Now our direct competitor holds a significant customer share that we want and this "sale" has not been publicized yet (and the intention may be to never publicize it). My business partner and I determined that if we had the client share that our recently sold competitor has, it would significantly increase our revenue without taxing our resources - which is always a good thing. So, I did the man thing: I called up our client and let them know that their service provider is disappearing and their designated customer service representatives have also disappeared (read: let go). I also emphasized the fact that OUR tool provides the protection against liability that they need and going to any other competitor puts them at risk. So basically, I CAPITALIZED on the situation. I will continue to utilize this approach until we increase our share and I thank you, competitor, for jumping ship. The woman in me, though, can't help but say, "good luck on your other endeavors". Sigh....