Winning in sports is easy.. that is, it’s an easy concept.. Winning in business is not..
The concept of winning requires someone else to lose.. Not a problem in sports, it’s a game. Losing is not a concept that works well in business though. Even negotiation works best if the outcome is beneficial for both parties to the table..
Winning in business should be about creating nothing but winners, because even if both you and your competitors grow, this means that you are growing the total pie.. And growth of the pie means Customers are winning as well..
Winning in business is not about outperforming the competition. Winning in business is about co-creating superior value with all stakeholders, for all stakeholders. It is is about building an ecosystem that is so unique, it becomes a market, or category, in itself.
Being a winner in business is all about finding your spot in the ecosystem, where you can best help others be winners too..
What do you think?
I’m participating today in an off-site team-building session with the Coniche team.. The theme is “W1nning”, and we were asked to contribute a three minute talk with our views on the theme.. I thought I’d share mine here too..
A Customer & Brand Strategy Blog 
Excellent post. Product-centered companies have developed the win-lose mentality that you describe because they can only see one side of the relationship. Customer-centric businesses, on the other hand, have leaders who have built a culture that allows their employees to see both sides.
This behavior is exemplified by a company that I interviewed recently. They are one of the most customer-centered organizations in the world. Its actions are sensible, its employees are passionate about their core values, and it is loved by its customers because the entire culture operates with a generous, positive philosophy focused on “just do the right thing and the results will follow.”
One of their executives said, “Profit to us isn’t selling; it is serving, asking questions with a purpose and looking for opportunities to serve. It is grounded in relationship building and being intuitive about the opportunities.” They believe in abundance, rather than scarcity. They have a customer strategy, which the owner describes as, “We’re not giving the farm away. We are giving our customers the seeds and they can make them grow.”
Their expansiveness and imagination, which grows out of their purposeful culture makes this business more successful than any of its counterparts in the markets it serves. Outperforming the competition, in other words, occurs naturally and in a stronger way, driven by genuine customer-centricity. That is what differentiates the exceptional performers from the ordinary in every sector.
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Like the last paragraph, while I don’t have a definite answer as depending on context and time the components that can be decisive in decision making might differ.
In terms of B2B, can it be different service offerings that can be complimentary and which through partnerships strengthen both businesses if done right for the benefit of the customer. Thus one would have what’s proposed above, co-created value for all stakeholders involved.
*The challenge to a win-win concept however, is the “how” – where is the balance in meeting the requirements of all the stakeholders involved; what aspects are deemed as more valuable and why, etc…
Is that where the value of good communication channels, methodologies and analytics come into play?
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