One of the most powerful driving forces in human
nature is competition. The desire to overcome something
or some company, the need to win, the cause, can in
many cases be more important than the day-to-day work
of the company.

If your company and your people are to ever reach some
level of greatness, you must identify and focus on beating
something, on creating and communicating a reason for
being.

If your reason for being is that you got fired, so you decided
to go into business for yourself, then maybe all you will ever
create is a job.

Now, understand that when I say enemy or competition, I’m
not necessarily suggesting something negative. While the
folks at Apple Computer will tell you that their reason for
being is often rooted in beating Microsoft, many organizations
also draw motivation from saving things, ridding the world
of things, creating peace, making life more enjoyable, teaching,
sharing, spreading and a host of other very positive things.

And that’s the point. Small business owners often have no
readily identifiable group of competitors or Goliath to aim
at but they may find motivation in a great cause or reason for
being and connecting that that great cause can become the
drive to play the game at the highest level.