There is cut-throat competition and so your ‘sales force targets’ customers in the dog-eat-dog world. Th ere are business sharks in the rat race who might be engaged in fierce competition
It is that time of the year the season for celebrating the victory of good over evil. If there is one lesson to be learnt from this festive season, it is about the nice guys winning. But do good guys win? If not always, at least most of the times. Business communication is replete with warlike terminology. Th ere is cut-throat competition and so your ‘sales force target’ customers in the dog-eat-dog world. Th ere are business sharks in the rat race who might be engaged in relentless and fierce competition, and ruthlessly kill the competition.
Is business then all about aggression and elbowing others out of the way? It might seem that way, but it is not always that way, say experts. `Collaboration is the new competition’ reads a piece in the Harvard Business Review. While it may sound like a cliché to talk about the globalised business world, no one has all the answers in such a world. With business becoming less assembly line and more inclusive in terms of the people, the place and target market, the need to collaborate is more than ever before. You cannot lead by riding roughshod over everyone when it is all about team work.
When it is no longer about the ‘boss’ and the ‘employee’ and more about being first among equals, it takes cooperation and collaboration rather than competition to succeed. Richard Branson, founder of the very successful Virgin Atlantic Airlines when asked about whether aggression is necessary in business has said “Th ere are lots of ways to get your point across and make your business successful without being aggressive. Always remember that you love what you do and your role is to persuade others to love your business, too, and, therefore, to want to work with you. I hope we are successful at Virgin because we engage with everyone in a positive, inclusive manner rather than in an aggressive, combative or negative way.”
THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS TO GET YOUR POINT ACROSS AND MAKE YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT BEING AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER THAT YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO AND YOUR ROLE IS TO PERSUADE OTHERS TO LOVE YOUR BUSINESS, AND TO WANT TO WORK WITH YOU
A professor at the Wharton School of Business also says that ‘giving’ or being less aggressive and threatening can be very powerful, both personally and professionally. Th e non-aggressive people, he says, earn the respect of their colleagues without being threatening. People who feel more secure and less threatened are more likely to be loyal and get better results.
So while the good guys might have to engage in war sometimes and fight battles, it seems the best way forward in business is to be the nice guy. So while ‘cracking the whip’ might have worked in another time, for now we can all do well to imbibe the lessons the festive season has on off er. Season’s greetings everyone !
By Suchismita Pai
