In the sporting world if you’re loosing then you and your team set about practicing more, perfecting your technique and studying the other teams to look for their weaknesses. You then try to exploit those weaknesses using the skills and team work that you’ve developed during your practices.
Business is much the same. You should study your competitors and look for ways to offer customers more value than they do (take advantage of their weaknesses). You should be constantly developing your business skills (perfecting your technique) and training your employees (practicing as a team).
Seth Godin suggests there is another way for businesses to win; change the game:
Consider the sandwich/burger shop/deli on a street crowded with choices. What to do? Why not get rid of all the meat and become a vegetarian/kosher sandwich/burger shop/deli? Now, it’s five competitors and you. Anyone with a friend who eats carefully will bring her to your shop, the one and only one of its kind.
Not an option for a sports team, but definitely an option for your business.
This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
Interesting point. However, there are still ways to change the rules in sports. New tactics, such as new offensive strategies in football, can change the game.
In both cases, the scoring is still the same (points or $) regardless of what tactics you use.
In the business of sports, the game can change based on how you choose to make money. Is it based on winning, merchandise, TV contracts?
Tactics differ somewhat from rules however.