Do You Need An Adversary to Succeed?

The other night I was having drinks with a friend who has started a thriving business in DC. Our conversation meandered  touching upon business and just general catch-up. But somewhere in the middle they asked me, "Do you have an adversary?" I kind of brushed it off but the question has stuck with me since. "Do I?" And if I do, who is it and what purpose do they serve?

My friend likes having an adversary. In fact, in round about terms, they not only like to have one, they like to crush and destroy them. They take joy and delight in seeing a competitor fail and fall by the way side. Perhaps this is their secret motivator. Who knows. It's certainly working for them.

It does make sense, some of the best work in history has been produced by competing rivals who peak at the same time and push each other to new heights. Borg and McEnroe. Frasier and Ali. Google and Apple. Apple and Samsung. Stars Wars vs Star Trek. The entire super hero film and comic book industrial complex. Obama va Boehner, and so on and so on.  We live in a world of rivalry. Arch-rivals in fact. Two of my favorite artists, Warhol and Basquiat mockingly played up the whole rivalry concept as only artists could in a show they did together during the height of the '80s New York pop-art explosion.

Otherwise known as the “Fire Vs. Ice”, the Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe rivalry consists of a total of 14 matches through the careers of these two athletes.

So I thought about it. Yes. ArtJamz definitely has rivals. When my friend asked me who my biggest rival was, I said LivingSocial. How could they not be? They are a half billion dollar VC-funded 800 pound gorilla with millions of dollars of city tax breaks that decided to replicate our business model and do painting and sipping classes. Did LivingSocial's move into our area cause some consternation? Sure. Did I send out a biting press release the same day they launched their competing product? Sure did.  Did I talk shit about them with my friends? Guilty. But, aren't there 5 or 6 other paint and sip businesses that have popped up since we started? Yes, there are. Aren't they also also rivals? And what about that person, and that blogger, and that vendor, and so on and so on. You see, having a rival can be a slippery slope. Emotion can be a motivator, but it can also be a hinderance.

The drive to destroy your competition at all costs! is ultimately wrought in anger and negativity. An entrepreneur should be motivated by creating the best possible product, business or service possible. They should be injected with the adrenaline rush of ownership by the over-powering need to create something amazing and profitable, not by reveling in the havoc of an adversary. They should be driven to engage their audience or customer better each day, providing them with something they haven't experienced before, not be obsessed with what their competition is doing. Business owners should get out of bed in the morning wanting to create a better place for the staff that depend on them -- not devising Machiavellian plans for the competition's demise.

Poster originally produced by Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York and Bruno Bischofberger Gallery, Zurich in 1985. Advertising an exhibition of the paintings produced collaboratively by Andy Warhol (1928-87) and Jean Michel Basquiat (1960-88). 

Don't get me wrong, I'm fiercely competitive. I played soccer my whole life, captain of the high school soccer team, etc. I could not stand losing. It hurt. Viscerally. When I'd lose, I wouldn't eat or talk to anyone for hours. I hated the teams that beat us. I still hate losing, but as I matured, I learned to channel my competitive fire. Like Tai Chi, I try to use the force of the punch from our opponent against them.  Or like Bruce Lee said, "be like water."

In the case of LivingSocial -- I could have turned my feelings to hate, and sat there and stewed, or even threw in the towel. But instead, I turned the other cheek and looked on the bright side. In fact, I should probably write them a thank you letter. Business has boomed since they started doing all our marketing and promotion for us for free. Nothing like having your competitor send out millions of emails promoting the same business concept as yours, but then only be open a few hours a week to actually do it. It also provided the inertia for us to evolve our business model. As soon as LivingSocial started doing by-appointment only paint and sip classes, we changed from the same structured art class model to an open-7-days a week public art studio and lounge, where you can walk-in any time. I used the energy from their punch to morph into something they aren't. Which means that all those people who see a LivingSocial paint and sip invite and decide they want to go, but can't fit into the tightly scheduled windows provided -- or go and want to go again, but LivingSocial isn't running "a deal" -- they Yelp! or google "Paint and Sip", "Paint Party, or "Paint and Drink", what have you, and ArtJamz comes up,  because we decided to take our battle to the SEO front. LivingSocial also undercut all our competitors, who had been living off daily deals, essentially, doing us a  huge favor by marginalizing our competition. They also have lots of market research about what customers will pay to paint and drink, so when they set their price at $29, we added multiple options for customers that range from $22 to $40. Recently, we launched an ArtJamz Academy where we replicated their business model by offering crowdsourced art classes. So, you see, you can have a rival, but don't let negativity, anger or schadenfreude drive you. In the end, I wish LivingSocial well. I hope they create more jobs for the city. But the most satisfying and motivating thing you can do is stay two steps ahead of your competition by focusing on being the best you can be. Because the thing a rival fears the most, is a rival who has no fear.