Competitive advantage requires mental strength

should be treated as fellow comrades in arms.
In a dam, all these species have a space to fish. The fisherman needs to understand his gap in the whole dam.
The whole concept of competition centres on the issue of gap analysis. All markets without exceptions have unsatisfied customers either because the producers do not have the capacity to produce or they do not know the existence of the unsatisfied needs.
Most of the time I fish I always notice some ducks fishing in some parts and fish eagles in other parts of the dam. It is difficult to notice the fishing patterns of catfish and other predators unless you put the fish and them in a smaller pond.
At times behaviour of competitors is difficult to put under surveillance either because of their location or their slyness.
At times, competitors operate in the markets that you are not aware of.
This gives your company a free tutorial on the existence of such markets, which can enable you to come up with your own offering to meet the needs and wants of the customers.
The fisherman and reptiles compete to catch fish but the specs, size and type of fish they are looking for might be exactly the same.
A fisherman who uses a rubber automatically does not catch bass, which is smaller than 80 grams.
The fish that is less than 80 grams consists of the majority of fish caught by ducks and smaller catfish.
Most companies have not been able to define the segment of markets they operate in such that at times, companies invest huge sums of money fighting to protect markets which are not value adding to them.
However, competition in the dam is not only restricted to competing with reptiles, birds and other fish species as it can also involve other fishermen.
Overcoming intimidation
On a superficial level, fishermen compete on scouting for the right fishing spots and techniques of catching.
If football or rugby were won by technique or physical strength this would be a beautiful world to live on.
Most of our soccer teams fail to withstand intimidating soccer spectators in West Africa.
As a result some of our soccer clubs surrender healthy leads such as 3 to 1 advantage in West African stadiums.
Increasingly, intimidation is now playing a greater part in influencing the results of most games.
Techniques can easily be copied and cannibalised to the advantage of the competitor.
Even in fishing, intimidation plays a role in deciding the outcomes of fishing competition.
Intimidation disorients a competitor. This strategy is greatly employed by crocodiles when they swing the non-aquatic prey in the water to disorient it.
Testimonies from survivors of crocodile attacks reveal that they only escaped because they had the mental strength to resist the disorienting effect of the attack.
Mental strength is not something that is taught at school but it is needed to survive in the jungle.
Mental strength enables the fisherman to withstand pressures caused by peers.
The pressures are normally calculated to throw the competitor off balance.
This makes you to lose concentration and ultimately the game.
Executives must train themselves to distinguish the difference between the noise and music (appearance versus reality) from the competitors. Often noise is louder but carries no substance.
As alluded to earlier on, the fisherman needs mental strength to co-exist with reptiles, which pose danger to him and strength to cope with human competitors.
The truth about competition is that a fisherman cannot win all games.
Winning is not guaranteed all the time but what is important is how one can improve by coping the good techniques from the adversaries.
All defeats must be used as learning points. This means executives need the mental strength to swallow their pride and their full-blown egos and start learning from their adversaries.
Learning organisations cannibalise techniques from their competitors and incorporate them into their existing skills.
Earlier on it was noted that a fisherman must learn from reptiles, birds and fish (indirect competitors) and from other fisherman (direct competitors).
Copying and incorporating skills from direct competitors requires less mental application as compared to copying and cannibalising specs from indirect competitors who excel in certain disciplines.
Developing mental strength is a gradual and painfully slow process.
A fisherman cannot be expected to develop mental attitudes which withstands intimidation overnight is practically impossible.
Regardless of that it is compulsory for fisherman to be mentally strong so that they can cope with intimidation and real competition challenges.
Competition is here to stay as evidenced by the enactment of Government departments (such as the Competition and Tariffs Commission) that protects the competitive environment.
Therefore, we must embrace competition to achieve growth.