“The only person you should ever compete with

is yourself. You can’t hope for a fairer match.”

— Todd Ruthman

Assuming you’re going to compete at all, this is the way–and I think the most meaningful as well.

As a sales manager, I hated all those contests that focused on the top 20% pretending to be motivational to the rest. The truth was that anyone could win, but it was rarely someone outside the top 20%. What’s the point of that?

So I always tried to develop contests that would have one showing a certain improvement level over where they were in the past and it certainly made for a more interesting and effective contest. There was also participation by the majority whereas before, so many would give up right out of the gate.

I don’t like the idea of competition, but I do like the idea of growth, of becoming more that I was and desiring to get better at what I do. I like contests that everyone can win rather than the top person.

We Are All Winners! In This, There Are No Losers.

Spread Some Joy Today–See what you can do to make your coworkers feel like winners.