It’s your job

Question.

Have you ever been disrupted to the extent that you were not sure your business (or any other example) would survive?

Your life was good until the moment this competitor suddenly appeared with significantly more money than you have to lure your people away, offer a different product, and shake you to your core.

For years, life was good.

Now everything is a question mark.

What do you do?

You defend yourself. You explain to your customers why this competitor is no good. You try to discredit your competitor. You stress the importance of your business to the general public. You explain why your product is the best. You start reviewing what improvements you can make.

You start looking at your business differently.

You thought you had a good offering. Now you’re not so sure anymore.

For years you made incremental improvements. Now it feels like you may have to change your entire business model.

All those habits, routines, rituals, small changes, and positive feedback that made you feel invincible suddenly make you insecure.

But you can’t show that to your customers.

You have to show strength, determination, and rock-solid confidence that your product is the best and will survive.

Erikjan Lantink

The story above is a story about golf and disruption.

Had I started with this sentence, you may have decided not to continue reading. Golf is not your thing.

But that’s not the point; this can happen to any business nowadays. The world is global and connected, and money is everywhere.

Allow me a few sentences for context.

The PGA golf tour in the US and the DP World Tour outside the US have a new competitor. LIV golf.

LIV golf is a new golf league financed by a Saudi Public Investment Fund, i.e., the Saudi government. This is the Saudi attempt to buy goodwill in the rest of the world and promote their country.

LIV golf is buying professional golfers away from the other two leagues and offers incredible sums of money as a signup bonus. Then they also pay incredible price money for each event.

Three million USD if you win. 120.000 USD if you only show up.

So if I could convince them to let me play and end dead last, I would still go home with 120.000 USD. Not bad for three rounds of golf.

Bear with me as I’m going to speak from both sides of my mount a little.

ONE.

One of the arguments the conservative (yes, I use that word) golf tours are using is that it’s hard competing as a business with an entire oil-driven government.

Another argument is that these are the Saudis. It’s unethical to work with them.

The last, often-heard argument is that these tours were for many years so good for their players that it feels like a betrayal that, already well-off, players decide to leave for more money.

Before I speak from the other side of my mouth, allow me to reflect on these arguments.

The arguments above are understandable and can count on many sympathies, including my sympathy.

It’s hard to compete when money is no object; ethics are at play, and already money-loaded players decide they want even more.

BUT…

And that brings me to the other side of my mouth.

TWO.

It’s your job to stay relevant.

It’s your job to outpace the competition and innovate as if you were under threat daily (even when the threat is not there).

It’s your job to figure out how to connect the players to your league for years to come.

It’s your job to tell your story over and over again, keeping everyone awake and making it hard for others to compete.

It’s your job to have a strong enough purpose that makes every player want to stay with you despite more money.

It’s your job to compete.

And the fact is that both golf tours were basically acting as monopolies in their geographical areas.

In this world, one can never assume that you have arrived. Your product or service can turn irrelevant within a matter of days.

That’s what you need to be aware of every single day.

That’s your job.

Your turn: How would you respond to disruption?

Do more of what makes you happy!

Erikjan