WHY HAVING A “MUST-WIN” MENTALITY MAY ACTUALLY BE DAMAGING TO YOUR BUSINESS

So it is that good warriors take their stand on ground where they cannot lose – Sun Tzu

"We live in a greedy little world". With those words Shaina Twain aptly captures the dominant spirit of our world today in her very popular song "KaChing".

Our society is obsessed with winning – a cut throat competitive spirit. From an early age, the desire to come first is actively encouraged and bred. Coming second is unthinkable.

An example of the damaging effects of the “must-win” attitude as evident in our society today is the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. Why do athletes most of them very respected like Marion Jones for example cave in to the pressure to use performance-enhancing illegal designer drugs?  One reason is that successful athletes can win instant fame and a huge fortune. Steroids seem to offer a shortcut to this gold mine. A prominent sports coach summed up a dominant attitude of many when he said: “Winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing.”

Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told a U.S. congressional hearing some seven years ago:  “We are now facing a very damaging message that is becoming pervasive in our society—that bigger is better, and being the best is more important than how you get there.”

Bob Goldman, a physician specializing in sports medicine, conducted a survey in which he asked young athletes if they would take a banned performance-enhancing drug under the following conditions: They would not be caught, they would win every competition for the next five years and, afterward, they would die from the side effects of the drug. More than half the youths responded with a yes.

Every business is set up primarily to make profits hence many businessmen do not see it as their jobs to question the morality or otherwise of the sources of such profits. In fact this overriding desire to make as much profit as possible, has led many business execs to carry out outrageous malpractices, the effects of which has led to pain, loss of jobs and even death to others. As an example, The British newspaper The Guardian recently announced in 1984: “The international drugs industry, including leading British firms, was accused by Oxfam of systematically exploiting the Third World poor for commercial profit.” The newspaper went on: “Its most damning indictment concerns the willingness of the major drug companies to sell highly dangerous and potentially toxic preparations to the Third World—frequently with claims about safety and efficacy which they have been forced to withdraw in the West.”

Or take the example of former Enron CEO Jeffery Skilling who was so driven by the urge to win at all costs that he mortgaged his company’s fiscal health for a winning stock position, which act led to the massive losses to the life-savings of more than a thousand employees.

What do I think about the win at all costs attitude? I think that it is sick, unhealthy and not good for your business – in the long run. Remember the steroid example above? Steroids make you bigger faster better as an athlete but over time it gradually cripples the body’s internal organs and may cause organ failure or even death. Think of doing anything unethical and immoral in business as steroids that would ultimately lead to the death of your business.

Please note though that winning - succeeding in business – is not wrong in itself. In fact it is a necessary desire if your business is to survive in this harsh economic climate. A desire to succeed helps you strategise and look for the best ways to produce, market and position your products and services. It is a necessary requirement for any business person.

From the foregoing, it is necessary that you have a winning attitude, a strong desire to surmount obstacles and be the best at what you do. A drive to grow your business and make it a market leader, a desire to control the niche you’ve carved for yourself in the corporate environment. But, and this is a big but, how you win matters a lot.

Be Sun-Tzu’s ideal warrior, the invincible one, by fighting on ground where you cannot lose. This involves adopting strategies that makes it impossible for you to fail. Fraudulent practices in business is a reckless strategy, it is ground on which you will most certainly lose!

If you tell lies to get business, if you involve in shady business practices, evade taxes, pad your statement of financial position, carry out professional espionage or involve yourself in other unethical business practices, if you proclaim you have something that you do not, you may enjoy some benefits short term – a sharp rise in profits, increase in sales – but in the long run, the effects are damaging.

First and foremost, the trust you’ve built over time becomes eroded, your business name sounds odious to clients who at one time regarded you as the best. Finally it may lead to the loss of revenue to you, and final collapse of your business.

Ask Enron COO Jeffrey Skilling .

References

1.       Ofili, Okechukwu. How Stupidity Saved My Life, Ofili Ikechukwu, 2010.

2.       Awake! December 22 2005, What You Should Know About Steroids, Watch Tower Bible and Tracts Society, 2005

3.       Sun Tzu, The Art of War (Translated by Thomas Cleary), Shambhala Publications Inc., 2005