Have you ever had a rival? Someone you really wanted to beat? From the bottom of your heart?
I am sure if you look back in your life there is at least one person you will remember.
I played 15 years of basketball and let me tell you I had a lot of rivals!
Maybe Reggie Miller, one of the world’s best basketball players, brings it perfectly to the light:
Reggie played for the Indiana Pacers in the 1990s and he was the biggest rival of the New York Knicks.
In his comment in the video above he says that “in the moment it was so intensive and so pressure packed” but when he looks back on it, “it was the best time of his career” because he never knew what the next game would bring. But the two most interesting parts of the interview are where he says that the 20,000 people in the arena yelling against him always pushed him over his limits and the way he talks about the New York Knicks fans.
He is full of respect.
So, how about rivals in business?
For us the two biggest rivals in our German FMCG market are Henkel and Procter & Gamble. And what should I say is, of course, WE are ALWAYS in first place…;)
But seriously I would not be so passionate for this company if I was not sure about our position as the market leader. However, do I sometimes think “wow, this was a good idea from one of our rivals”?
Yes, every now and then I do. They do a great job as well. But in such situations it is up to us to be a little step faster. And this little step is the one which pushes you beyond your limits.
So how do I realize this rivalry at the point of sale?
Within my resellers I know how our position is at every shelf. I know how many second placements we have compared to others. And yes, every company tries to get the best spot in the shelf on eyelevel for the customer and as many facings as possible. Everyone fights for the biggest and best looking second placements. So, it is always a discussion with the reseller who has the better brands and who should stay wider and bigger.
It is always about the right argumentation and the right connection to the reseller who gets the best spots.
Ok, what did I try to tell you with this post?
In my eyes everyone needs rivals to get the best out of you. But within a rivalry it is most important to play hard but fair.
Be respectful.
And now for all of you fans of good old entertainment, this might have been the biggest rivalry in sports history!
Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior: Watch as Hulk hands the victory belt over to his rival and raises the hand of the Warrior. Enjoy.
Tags: achievement, career development, company culture, Competition, Sales manager, Success, taking on new challenges
Great post. I particularly liked this part:
“…In his comment in the video above he says that “in the moment it was so intensive and so pressure packed” but when he looks back on it, “it was the best time of his career” because he never knew what the next game would bring.”
As an ex-RB employee I think this totally captured my experience. An intensive work environment but I’m very proud of the things it led (pushed!) me to achieve. The opportunity to run with your ideas is rarely offered elsewhere.
The core of your writing while sounding agreeable originally, did not really settle properly with me after some time. Someplace throughout the paragraphs you managed to make me a believer unfortunately only for a very short while. I still have got a problem with your leaps in logic and you might do nicely to fill in those gaps. When you can accomplish that, I would certainly end up being fascinated.