The End of Competition in Business
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For over decades the idea has been that markets are characterized by competition. Leading business thinkers up to this very moment still stress the importance of competitive spirit. But this business paradigm may render irrelevant in our 21st Century.
Business strategy: survival of the fittest?
The general belief is that this source of competitiveness is required to maintain a healthy market structure. You simply increase entry barriers to prevent newcomers entering your market and try to push out your existing rivals out of business.
It’s like Darwin’s survival of the fittest. But in business this time. Only our most competitive businesses will survive, so is the idea.
But what if we realize the world we live in is a world that belongs to all of us? What if we live in a world that is dominated by abundance instead of scarcity? And what if our businesses collaborate instead of compete with each other?
From Competition to Collaboration
In a world of scarcity, competition thrives and could very well lead to a healthy market structure. Yet in a world of ideals that characterized by abundance & giving, a competitive mindset is rendered irrelevant. Just think about it: how could companies ever compete for shared ideals? There’s no scarcity in ideals?
Business Evolution: Consciousness
But the paradigm of competitive spirit lingers on in our thinking. Even within the abundance of shared ideals. Companies preferably affiliate with charitable organisations to support specific ideals. And although charities do good work, what they do is filling up the void that is created by government & free markets. Supporting charities will thus continue the way we do things around here with all its consequences and challenges we are currently faced with.’
Structural change will thus have to stem from either government or the way we do business. The shift in business consciousness where companies will work together based on shared ideals will happen within a decade or so. It only takes some time for us and our businesses to unlearn our learning and replace it by something new.
21st Century Conscious Companies
Conscious Companies are popping up all over the world. They show that profitability perfectly goes hand in hand with a higher purpose. These beacons of hope build their business based on giving, growth and connection. They are the ones who are changing the face of business, and the world while they’re at it.