Praising the enemy

In the news this week is footballer, Dave Kitson, who is effusing about the sheer skill of the Arsenal players and the team now playing in the English Premier league. Nothing unusual in that, but Kitson is a striker for Reading FC as well a life-long Tottenham fan. The thing is, that dropping prejudices in favour of identifying competitor’s qualities, is a healthy thing.

I once worked for a company that supplied direct marketing services to a well known luxury car brand. How refreshing it was to attend a new launch briefing session at UK HQ, where product managers would compare their new car with the competition. Not only would it be good analytical stuff, but they would be critical of their own model’s weaknesses and praising of the competition if they had anything that was better. Such objectivity can only help one learn and improve I know that might sound obvious, but try looking at a competitive entity and see how many good things that you admire and can list. It might surprise you!