100 Business Days Out: Day 63 - Spirit of Competition!

As I mentioned the other day, here in Central Beach on the Fourth of July there are two annual events that bring out the neighborhood. Both also bring out the best competitive spirit in all of us. The first is the 4 mile road race. It's the 32nd year of the annual race. The other is the community parade. This is where a theme is given out at the beginning of the year (this year it is "The Olympics") and the community builds floats with costumes, etc. and then we parade for about a mile from the beach to the ballpark. On the ballfield, while the judges make their determinations, we all sing patriotic songs together after we pledge allegiance to the flag, etc. It's very Americana and it is just a great, wholesome, family-oriented way to celebrate the holiday. And comes with the spirit of competition. And, if there is one thing I know about myself is that I have that spirit within me. I have been training for the road race. I do so every year and although I believe it impossible for me to win my age group (40-49) this year (I won it when I was 41), I still go out there and give it my all to see what I can do. Also this year we will be entered into the parade competition. The FREPPS (that stands for Fig, Rusty, Emma, Phoebe, Patti and Sue) will be competing with our own marching theme. I spent most of today building the props, paiting, and lettering. Tonight, Fig and I finished off the last complicated part and tomorrow we will do some last minute painting and be ready for marching at 5:00pm. Will we win? I doubt it, but it's a lot of fun to compete. You wonder what it is sometimes that drives that spirit of competition in us to be better than others and better ourselves? That spirit is many times what makes a team or a business better than others and without that spirit there is no reason to push ourselves a little harder. As I watched us work together today as a team getting our float ready, I reflected on the times in business where there was single purpose, aligned and shared work, and the unity of spirit to "win". Those were the best of times. And, at the heart of it all was the unified and agreed upon spirit to compete...together. That's a good spirit to have here on the Beach or back at the office.