- As you think about the companies
that your company competes with,
there are some easy examples that come to mind, no doubt.
These are companies whose products
or services overlap with yours.
Prominent examples would include Coca-Cola versus Pepsi,
or Ford versus General Motors,
or Delta Air Lines versus United Airlines.
Does the digital economy change much
when it comes to the nature of competition?
The answer is that it does significantly.
The company-to-company competition has been replaced
by the ecosystem-to-ecosystem competition.
In delivering digital products and services,
companies now develop partnerships
in ways that they didn't in the past.
This begins with the technology partners
that provide software, often as a service.
It extends to open-source technology providers, as companies
need not reinvent all of the technology that they leverage.
This also extends to staff augmentation providers,
who can provide people with important skills
on a temporary basis, say for a single project
or to help address spikes in demand.
As each of these kinds of partners innovates
at different paces and in different directions,
it's important to choose one's partners wisely
and replace those that are not adding sufficient value.
By the way, this also means that value
needs to be measured in a different way today.
Value needs to include new ideas generated or introduced,
new products brought to market faster,
contribution to customer satisfaction,
and contribution to top and/or bottom line.
These are true value metrics.
The point is that the broader group of vendors
that your company uses should also be viewed as sources
of inspiration rather than just fulfillers of work.
Just as you ought to seek the counsel of everyone
from the most senior to the junior members of your team
for ideas on what to pursue and why, by casting a net
wider still by engaging your strategic partners
to a greater extent, ensures you're able to tap resources
who by definition have a wide array of experiences
to bring to bear on your behalf.
That ecosystem should include peers
of yours in other companies.
It's never been easier to reach out to peers
leveraging social networks, industry conferences,
or simply picking up the phone and making a call.
By seeking ideas and advice from someone
who's in a similar role, you can emulate the successes
of theirs, while avoiding the pitfalls.
I should mention that you should be ready and willing
to offer comparable advice to those same people.
It's best to operate under the principle
of giving a little to get a little.
The stronger your ecosystem is, the more you'll
gain advantages that your competitors won't have access to.
The ecosystem is the path forward to better performance.