Competition Can Inspire People to Achieve a Common Goal

Photo by Keith Allison (via Wikimedia Commons)
Photo by Keith Allison (via Wikimedia Commons)

People are competitive by nature.

Businesses that can harness this natural instinct can use it to achieve specific objectives including meeting production quotas, beating a rival’s sales goals, or enhancing the reputation and/or market share of your organization.

Pitting people against each other is a time-honored tradition. Sports entertainment, for example, has always profited from feeding people’s need for competition.

You probably wouldn’t care if 11 anonymous men you never met faced off on a field of grass against a different group of 11 strangers. Yet every Sunday, millions of people tune in to watch their favorite NFL team because they nominally represent their city. And advertisers rank in millions from sales of beer, cars, and other products to football fans.

Competition and Human Nature

Science supports the theory that people are naturally competitive. And it goes far beyond athletics. It is even apparent in economics.

One study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found that nearly half the participants said they would prefer to live in a world with the average salary was $25,000 and they earned $50,000 per year than one in which they earned $100,000 per year but the average salary was $200,000.

Another study found that people making just above the minimum wage were among the least likely to support a hike in the minimum wage.

Using Competition to Your Advantage

Healthy competition is one of the best motivational tools business owners can use. Goal setting is a part of any business plan. But setting goals in which teams compete against each other is a highly effective way of inspiring people on both teams to work harder.

One of the most obvious examples of this is in fundraising. Every year, thousands of companies team with charitable organizations like the Red Cross or United Way, setting a fundraising target then challenging their employees to meet or exceed it.

Identify a Rival Business

Another way to harness healthy competition is to pit your workforce against your competitors. If your rival has a bigger market share than your business, challenge your employees to beat them within a specific time frame, be it a quarter, a year, or longer. When you create a common rival, people will almost always rise to the challenge.

Business owners have a lot to learn from the NFL. Creating rivalries, pitting teams against each other, and creating a culture in which people have the opportunity to work towards a common objective can reap enormous rewards for everybody.