Formula 1 is the pinnacle form of motor racing. Only ten teams, twenty drivers, compete. The barriers to entry are immense, and more organizations fail than succeed.
Those who succeed continue to maintain their foothold. The leaders are constantly pushing and have a singular focus: keeping their advantage and staying ahead of the competition. They focus on engineering, team coordination, and pushing the boundaries of technology to attain further success.
The teams who are not at the helm have far more to do, and one central element occupies their thinking, strategy, and execution. Unlike the leading team, they are preoccupied with one factor. What is the top team doing?
The laggards are more concerned with the front runners. What can they emulate, how can they adapt their cars to match the innovation, and what objections can they launch to minimize the advancements made by the front runners?
The attention is on someone else and not themselves. If we choose to focus on competitors’ efforts, when do we focus on what we are good at, how we may excel, and how we are uniquely different?
Looking at what our competitors are doing may be a guide or validation for what we are doing. However, if that is our strategy, they are already ahead since they have moved on from there.
