The Paranoid Survive

There is a tendency for all of us to believe we are smarter, faster, stronger, and more adept than we really are.  We reach a breakthrough and relax, strive for another breakthrough and relax again.  I think we feel we are safe, that we have left our competition in the dust or that we have no competition.  With 6.9 billion people in the world, competition is a reality and its stronger than we often think. 

Andy Grove, the CEO of Intel once postulated "Only the paranoid survive."  I think it's true.  Today as you are working ask yourself, who in the world is sharing my thoughts, my vision?  Where are they in their efforts?  When we imagine our work as a race,with the competition's location unknown we begin to visualize the state of markets today. 

Being good is no longer enough.  There are 6.6 billion living outside of the United States and they want your job.  Get in the race and race to win.

Americans traditionally love to fight. All real Americans, love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball players, the toughest boxers ... Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time.       General  George S. Patton  31 May 1944