The Best Companies Don't Try To Win

I don't believe in competition in the infinite game. I believe in worthy rivals, which— who are the companies that are doing one or many things better than you? And their strengths reveal to you your weaknesses. Learn from them because it's a gift. And I'll tell you one quick story that really highlights it. At the end of my Microsoft talk, they gave me a gift. They gave me the new Zune when it was a thing. Everybody can remember that. It was Microsoft's response to the iPod, basically. Basically. Anyway, I'm sharing a taxi with a senior Apple executive after the Apple gig, and I couldn't help myself. And I turned to him and I said, "You know, Microsoft gave me their new Zune. It is so much better than my iPod." And the guy turned to me and he said, "I have no doubt." And the conversation was over. Because when you have an infinite mindset, you understand that sometimes you're ahead and sometimes you're behind. There's no winning or losing. There's only ahead and behind. And the goal is not to beat your competitor. The goal is to outdo yourself. And 2 years later, Apple introduced the iPhone, which rendered both the Zune and the iPod obsolete because they were busy focusing on something else other than trying to beat their competitor. Focus on yourself. Focus on how you can be a better version of yourself. Learn from the competitors who are better than you.