There’s this classic rule in business that you shouldn’t talk about your competition, but is that still applicable today? The most typical way that business leaders think about competition can be summed up by business icon Jack Welch that once said, "Number one, cash is king; number two, communicate; number three, buy or bury the competition." For many, competition is a central driver in business that’s usually seen through the “winner takes all” or “zero sum” lens. Most businesses do not talk about their competition publicly, but on the rare occasion that brands do speak a competitor's name, it's usually negative, like an attack ad. Over the last two years, there has been a lot of negative energy bubbling up across America. So, instead of brands adding to the hate and negativity, maybe brands can help to lead us toward a more civil discourse? Furthermore, maybe there’s even a better payoff for being nice. While Jack Welch might be the business spirit animal of many, there’s an alternate way to think about business competition. "There's always competition in the world, but you don't have to be enemies. You can empower each other." You might see that ideology as weak, but consider arguably one of the most competitive businessmen in the world Gary Vaynerchuk who often says “you can build the biggest building in town without having to tear the others down.” If you are a brand, it turns out that praising your competitor, saying nice things about them, can boost your own sales. So, will we see more brands start deploying this BRAND New Friends strategy? I sure hope so because I believe business has a large role to play in our society and we can use some more positivity right now.
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