Complacency Kills

In any industry at this point in time, the world is moving very fast. Technology is driving incredible change in all industries. And I think it's more important than ever, probably always been true, but maybe more important than ever that whether or not you're an investor, you're starting a new company, or you're the CEO of a Fortune 100 company, you need to be looking over your shoulder and seeing where change is coming from. Being alert to what your competitors are doing. Doing the hard work of learning your competitor's business and trying to address any change that is coming down the path as quickly as possible.

So would you say that that is your best advice for leaders or aspiring leaders who are facing aggressive challenges from competitors?

Yes, my advice to anybody facing aggressive challengers from competitors is to do the hard work of learning your competitor's business. And that's not always easy to do, particularly if you are an optimist, like most entrepreneurs should be, right? If you're an optimist, it's not always easy to spend the time figuring out why somebody may or may not be doing what you want to do better than you.

Because you always say you're working on the best solution?

Exactly. And you have to be open-minded about the fact, you have to be realistic with yourself and open-minded about the fact that somebody or some company could be beating you at your own game. And if you're willing to do that, if you're willing to stay open-minded and do that hard work, it allows you the flexibility to pivot in time if, in fact, you need to pivot. It's a hard lesson to learn. Trust me, I've had to work on it my entire career.