In this episode of Beneficial Intelligence, I discuss competition. Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are competing who gets to space first, with both likely to blast off within the next two weeks.
Competition is one of the great forces propelling the world forward. Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spacecraft is based on SpaceShipOne that won the Ansari X Prize back in 2004. That prize was for a private spacecraft that could go to the edge of space twice in two weeks. It seemed impossible, but aerospace genius Burt Rutan with funding from Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen claimed the prize.
In the early part of the 20th century, the Schneider Prize similarly spurred innovation in aviation. The 1931 winner became the basis of the Spitfire fighter aircraft that won the Battle of Britain in 1940.
Self-driving cars come from the DARPA Grand Challenge. In 2004, no car could autonomously drive more than 7 miles. The next year, competition between especially Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University resulted in their two cars completing the 150 miles route within 9 minutes of each other.
If you have clear competitors in your space, identify them. Have someone examine your competitors' products, and share that knowledge with the entire team. Making sure that everyone knows what the bar is can release energy and creativity that will allow you to leapfrog the competition.
If you don't have a good external competitor to benchmark yourself against, commission two competing products inside your organization. That costs more money, but it releases energy and gives you speed and creativity. Once a winner has been declared, incorporate the best ideas from the losing project in the winning one.
Competition has been a great force for progress all through human history. Use it in your organization for increased creativity, energy, and speed.
Beneficial Intelligence is a weekly podcast with stories and pragmatic advice for CIOs, CTOs, and other IT leaders. To get in touch, please contact me at sten@vesterli.com
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com