The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself – Washington Allston
How does competition fit into the industry? Does it motivate everyone to produce better food and work more efficiently? Maybe without it you wouldn’t be motivated to keep learning and growing? Would we all be complacent on our teams otherwise?
It’s easy to believe that if you’re not doing it better than your competitors, whether it’s another food business or your fellow sous chefs, you’re losing out. But did you realise that if you’re simply striving to outshine everyone else, you’re selling yourself short?
How does competition limit you? For starters, you’re only focussed on getting ahead of the others in the pack. It’s like being shortsighted. Your vista is restricted to the arena immediately surrounding you and your competitors. You’re not giving yourself a chance to step fully into your potential that you’ve not yet seen. You’re not looking ahead towards your goal, but sideways or behind to see what everyone else is doing.
So, is competition a bad thing? Not altogether. The real benefit comes from competing with yourself. Bettering yourself and your performance at every opportunity. When you’re striving to outclass yourself, you get creative. You approach any challenge fully, with all your strengths and your limitations. You find new ways to do things. You find your way of doing things. You don’t yet know what your end destination is. But can you see that you’re looking at things with a more expansive vista?
Take a look at the most successful companies and achievers. They’ve got to where they are not by being better than someone else. They’ve done their own thing entirely. They’ve pushed themselves to do better than they did the last time. They’ve committed to grander metrics. They’ve got that one focus and nothing crowds their sightline.
You know who you want to be, right, chef?