Take The High Road

What do you do when the competition cheats and/or hits below the belt? We recommend that you take the high road. Let them drown in the flood. Remember, he who laughs last! You must resist the temptation to retaliate by descending to their level. You should read the book by W. Michael Hoffman who is Executive Director of The Center For Business Ethics at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. He presented another good reason to do the right thing. Not only will the high road give you better karma, but if you do something unethical in retaliation, it’s usually you who gets caught and if it’s illegal, there are far more reaching ramifications. Not to mention you will be in violation of your belief system or religion, which is a personal issue indeed. There are many variables to consider when handling competitors who hit below the belt. You need to consider:

What exactly it is that they are doing?

Where that activity falls on an ethics scale of 1-10 (Is it not nice or is it illegal?)

Is the competitor targeting your company specifically?

How many other companies are victims?

What is the impact on your business?

How much damage, if any, does it do to the industry?

Will it hurt your customers?

What is motivating this behavior?

Are they trying to get business any way they can?

Is this a last ditch attempt to stay in business now that you’ve taken market share?

Do they understand what they are doing?

Is the unethical action being done by a single employee?

What is the company’s philosophy?

Write all these down and elaborate two paragraphs on each of these topics. You will not only find out a lot about your competition, but also a solution. Talk to your mentor, a business consultant or your regional director about it. We have encountered everything over the last twenty years. Things such as: Slander, Stolen equipment, Sabotaged equipment, False complaints to government agencies, Etc. Our company happens to be in the car wash business; we’ve even had a competitor pay the landscapers to blow dirt and leaves on the cars we have just washed in the parking lot next door. Unbelievable. First we were mad. Then we laughed. We told our customers what they did and our customers told ten friends and so on. Needless to say, this strategy backfired on our competitors. Not only did it backfire but also it showed us how desperate they had become, letting us know we were winning the market share and they were getting closer to defeat.

Once you know what’s happening, what do you do? You can simply ignore it and let your strong reputation and community spirit protect you. Or you may want to take action. You should not complain until you do something about it. Just don’t do it ‘hot headedly’. You can report the unethical activity to the right people. Here are a few options you might want to consider: Report it to a professional organization, Report it to a regulatory agency, Talk to the owner of the company involved, Talk to professional competitors and or Confront the individuals.

If you report to a professional organization such as the BBB, local Chamber of Commerce, Industry Association, Detailers Association, Entrepreneurs Club, etc., that would be a good start. If you want to report to a government agency, let an industry representative do it for you. There is no reason to look like a ‘tattle tale’ especially in a small tight knit town, trade association or industry.

Many times it’s important to go right to the source. If you know the owner, you might be able to use this relationship to open communication lines. Start your conversation with “I’m hearing some things that concern me and I feel obligated to tell you. I know how hard you work and I think you ought to check this out.” Try not to position yourself as a victim. Remember, your competitor is the underdog if they attempt terrorist style methods. You are the lead dog and there view will never change. Position yourself as a friend or colleague. Put him at your level even if he is not, you might be surprised how well this does.

The more business owners help each other, the stronger our industry’s image will be with the consumer. Many times the person doing the slandering or questionable activity is the owner. But do not directly accuse them. No sense making enemies. If you don’t get proper satisfaction going directly to the source, contact others in your industry. Chances are they have also been victims. Quite often unethical activity works only when it is concealed. When you talk to people, be specific about the facts, not personalities involved.

When confronting an actual individual, such as a certain employee from another company, be vague and say something like: “I’ve heard such and such and I wanted to clear up any misunderstandings. What can you tell me about this?”

As an alternative or even a supplement to direct confrontation, publicly flatter your competitor even if you despise the person. There must be something he does well that you can compliment him on in front of others. It makes it real tough for someone to shoot at you after you’ve flattered them publicly. Perhaps they had been offended previously and this is just a revenge thing playing out in their Machiavellian self, remedy this by killing them with kindness. So remember:

Take the high road

Talk highly of competitors

Do something about disreputable slandering by competitors

Learn about your competitors from remarks from customers

Always know you are the best and together we are even better

Everyone in business has been offended or been hit below the belt. What you do about it will decide your inevitable success. Take the high road, think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/