Your Competitiveness May Not Serve You

There is an assumption in competitiveness that there can be only one winner or that others have to lose in order for you to win. The competitive mindset embraces this assumption and perceives the world and everything within it through a zero-sum lens. This mindset can undermine innovation as it focuses on myopic targets rather than value-creation. The creative mindset, on the other hand, assumes abundance as a reality and offers alignment with that abundance as the solution. This is the mindset where anything worth having is created. The future of work is moving away from the competitive-based zero-sum model towards a creativity model. Thus, the competitive mindset may no longer benefit us.   

Why a Creative Mindset is a Better Approach  

Life is a marathon and not a sprint. The competitive mindset will prepare you for a sprint, but never for a lifelong marathon. A marathon is a very personal testament to your stamina, perseverance, long term adhering to the laws of the universe, and a deep connection to your inner power. When you embrace a creative mindset, you also embrace a generosity that makes you approachable, empathetic, and confident. It does not originate in insecurity and thus does not focus on growth in relation to others success. Instead, it is a better way to approach the problems you face at both the team and the individual level.

Zero-Sum Is Not the Goal  

In the business world, competition is considered a bedrock to success. But even within the business world, there are those who embrace a different approach to competition. The Blue Ocean Strategy focuses on seeing the bigger picture and creating new markets. This completely overthrows the zero-sum game that many are pursuing. Steve Jobs’ philosophy embraced solving problems rather than competing with others. He chased an ideal functionality rather than beating others in design that already existed. He embraced the creative mindset. His goal was to provide game changing solutions to the world rather than to be yet another competitor in a sea of similar products. This is the difference in outcome between the competitive and the creative mindsets.

When I founded Rose International, there were intimidating competitors all around me. In focusing on my strengths in my daily efforts, I poured excellence into everything I sought out to accomplish. This is what led me to where I am today. Rose International is the only staffing company on Glassdoor’s 2019 Best Places to Work and is among the top 25 Largest U.S. IT Staffing Firms.

I did not focus on competing with my competitors because that would have produced a scarcity and fear-based mindset. Those competitors are no longer intimidating; in fact, we never cross paths. Their goals are different from ours, though that was not immediately apparent from the outset. If I had focused on them, I would have viewed their success as being greater than mine and that would not have helped me develop Rose into what it has become today. In fact, focusing on replicating their strategy would have been a big mistake. Instead, we forged our own path which is a more effective strategy than simply copying someone else’s and ending up a “wanna-be.”

Soar in Your Career

Like companies, every individual is unique. We each have our own experiences, perspectives, talents, and dynamics. Why undermine these qualities by giving your power away to others? Believing in yourself keeps you on your creative journey. You do not want to block your creative expression or the true joy in being able to express your authentic self in your work by focusing on competition all the time.

A competitive mindset can keep you chained to limitations and insecurities, while a creative mindset can break through these altogether. You can reach unbound potential and soar in your career when focusing on abundance rather than scarcity.

Even if you do manage to achieve your goals with a cutthroat competitive approach, whatever you’ve achieved will not make you feel proud in the end. It will not be worth having if you do not feel good about the means in which you achieved the goal. 

While having ongoing goals is critical, it’s more important to understand that it’s really about what you’re creating to change the game rather than how you win the game.