Lots of people have great ideas!
They start businesses or projects and go off and running with them. It's the way of entrepreneurship... we follow our passions, and allow pretty much nothing to get in our way. Even when those passions become misguided and even toxic to their surroundings.
Sometimes we get into disagreements with others over how things "should" be done, and if they are attached enough to their vision this can end up in considerable conflict both internal — within their organization — and external, with others.
The thing I've always had a bit of an issue with is the fact that a number of people are very stubborn, and they don't consider their idea a true success unless all alternatives have been wiped from the surface of the Earth!
That is (speaking metaphorically), they are not happy with merely growing the most beautiful roses in the neighborhood, they feel a compulsion to poison the roses in other yards that might be actual competition for them.
I even think back to the earliest days of our own Hive community, and the way many people were not only focused on building an awesome Hive but totally determined in their efforts to make our old chain fail almost as if they felt that Hive had no value unless Steemit failed. Whereas I can appreciate that there was some "bad blood" in that situation... all such actions — positive and negative — require attention, resources and energy.
On the greater scale of things, it's a very toxic mindset. I don't really care what people's opinions necessarily are, but the fact that somebody puts that much energy into — let's just call it "their competition" — takes that energy away from their own project where it would be better spent.
Moreover if you're operating in a mindstate where you are concerned with having a lot of negative ideas and feelings flowing, it quickly becomes very difficult to stay truly positive about your own gig!
We can turn to the greater investment world and the greater business world and we can see how much focus there is out there on pointing out the flaws of other people's system rather than highlighting our own benefits.
"You should buy our product because our competitors are bad people!" isn't exactly a strong or sustainable marketing platform!
Somewhat Related...
I regularly listen to a podcast from a small business owner and consultant whose approach to the business world is "Heart-Centered Business." He admits quite openly that the system we have is not only toxic, it is also not designed for — and very unfriendly towards — smaller projects and individual operators.
It's not that the business world does anything actively against the small operator, it's just that there are many benefits, advantages and discounts that are only available to large scale operations, thereby adding an extra layer of expense for those who can the least afford it.
That said, I suppose there are also those who would argue that "the system" wants to control individual operators because they have the greatest potential to start some kind of disruptive effort.
And large systems tend to be very paranoid about disruptions to those systems.
But returning to the idea of single-mindedness without the need to demolish the competition... it definitely is a viable approach if you are ready and willing to become truly relentless in your efforts to focus on excellence in your own project, potentially even leveraging the competition's efforts, rather than fighting against them.
Over the years, I have read many alarming statistics on the failure rate of small business and individual operators... but — as often as not — their demise is less the result of bad ideas and bad management as it is the result of impatience and not staying focused enough, and basically "quitting before you had a chance to succeed."
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Friday!
Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT posted anywhere else!)
Created at 2024-04-11 18:10 PDT
1128/2386
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
As a heart-centered creative and business person, I approve and appreciate this message ... I remember the Hive vs. Steemit behavior too ... and I see the toxicity all around us ... but focusing on what we bring to the world and its beauty is the best way. I only compete with the less wise, less good version of myself, and that is ENOUGH to deal with!
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