I completely agree with a quote that appeared in a post on the Signal vs. Noise blog entitle "Turning pomegranates into gold". The post discussed a Business Week article about a husband and wife team that has a track record of successfully running businesses.
The quote that caught my eye was, "I’ve never been concerned with competitors," she says. "Execution is everything in life."
I believe that you should focus on what you can control, which is serving your customers and striving for excellence in your sales and operations.
Being aware of what the competition is doing is good business. It allows you to make plans that play on your firm’s competitive strengths.
However, obsessing or worrying about the competition only takes your attention away from where it should be, which is managing your business. Additionally, focusing on what your company is doing will make you aware of any changes that may be necessary to better serve your customers and markets (which is better than defensively reacting to what the competition is doing).
I am building a public accounting firm and I can say honestly that I don’t care what the competition is doing. My primary focus is on communicating the services my company offers (both to clients and prospective clients) and providing the best products and customer service I can to clients. If I do this well, I believe that my company will be successful.
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