Your Competitors are Your Contributors

Lately, I've been particularly impressed by the idea that actual market saturation is a point much higher than I would anticipate. More simply, the sandbox is a lot bigger than I realized.

I tend to think, "Oh, someone is already doing X, so I need to think of something new." More and more, I'm realizing how wrong I am.

I'm coming to a point where I want to recognize my main competitors as my best contributors.

The iPad Again

I think Microsoft misses the boat here with their reality distortion field around Apple products. I'll include a couple of quotes that come to mind:

Watson claimed that many developers of applications for the iPhone OS–which the iPad uses–are not making money. Developing applications for the iPhone and iPad is expensive, he said, because iPhone OS uses the Objective-C language rather than Microsoft’s more pervasive .NET platform. And Apple’s control over the platform has alienated some people that make software for its products, he said.

Brandon Watson, Microsoft Director of Product Management, on the iPad (via Daring Fireball)

There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It's a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I'd prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get.

Steve Ballmer on the iPhone (via Electronista)

I think Microsoft displays an old model of business here. Armchair analysis and hours of watching Mad Men confirm that this practice took hold as marketing and advertising rose to greater prominence with the television. If you could tell everyone why that other brand of adult undergarments was underperforming¹, then they would select your brand by default.

A different, better mindset

But are these really the customers you want? The kind who just blindly believe you that the other guy is less good? And further, in this age where reviews are so accessible, your press release or off-hand public quote carry little value.

Instead, praise innovation. Praise your competitors. Assure your customers that you're excited that the bar is raised and you can't wait to deliver an even better product with these new ideas and some of your own.

There is more than enough room for two creators of operating systems. There is more than enough room for another concrete company, coffee shop, or whatever you're passionate about. But build on the work of your competitors, praise what they're doing, and make yourself better in some way. That's where success lives.