One of the important aspects in business that becomes a big challenge for entrepreneurs is competition. We see competitors as big enemies that have to be defeated. In a talk show Nadiem Makarim told the story of how he saw his competitor; Grab. Nadiem respected his competitor very much because Gojek could not push themselves to the limit without Grab’s existence. Competing with Grab was a wonderful experience for Nadiem personally.
Entrepreneurs often notice the competition as the most important war. Therefore, winning is a must for them so they will do everything in order to win. Yet there is one thing much more important beyond winning the game; it is the way we strive in the game.
Fred Kofman in his book titled Conscious Business said that business is more than making money. It is possible to experience great joy that we engage in a meaningful work which we are proud of.
We spend more than half of our adult life in our working environment. It is important to generate a great business that makes a lot of money, but we also have to concern about how we run the business. Conscious business thinks about our colleagues as human beings, rather than as human resources. We respect and be proud of our company and team if they not only prioritize the business but they also prioritize self-knowledge, self-actualization and self-transcendence.
We have to keep trying to run our business beyond business as usual. The business that can produce support, respect and trust from each of the company’s members. An environment that people feel listened to, valued, supported, and entrusted with meaningful work. An environment that makes us proud to be part of.
We cannot guarantee that this environment could be the single great formula to success and be the winner. Therefore, strong profit will not be sustainable without equally strong solidarity and good personal well-being.
Stop thinking that business is only about greediness, let us start to discern that business is a process to create mutual service. The mutual service for customers that make them want to buy our product or the mutual service for our employees that make them want to give the best for our company.
Moreover, the competition itself will be an arena of giving the best from each participant. Winning the game will be less important than the way we play in the game itself. It does not mean that we are a company without a desire to win. It means that we have to give our best to make the game more interesting.
We need to have a clear stand on what are the values that we want to fight for. Maybe we could fail, but we can be proud of ourselves because we do live our value in whatever condition is.