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One day, I have the opportunity to sit with him to have a cup of coffee. Naturally, he complained again about his aimless and boring life. To him, he has everything, his position in the company is the highest, no one will say “no” to him when he speaks, when he is wrong, no one dare questioning him. He express his emptiness and not knowing which direction to head for because there is no one his can use as a ruler to measure his success, how far he lack behind and what is the extra effort he should put in. He think that life is stagnant and wasting away every second. Fear start to creep in as he feels he is dying slowly as there is no challenge in life. Since he is the first, what is before first? His answer is death!
What a miserable successful man! Since I am a counselor, my job is to help him out of this disequilibrium. At last, he stands up against. Back to equilibrium. He found an business opponent. He created an opponent edge. Prepared, striving to be ahead of the opponent. He becomes a happy living being again.
Suddenly, I realized the important of having opponent in our life. I begin to appreciate my opponent in my school during childhood day, my workplace, my social world, my family, my college and my church. Without these opponents, I would not be what I am today. It is important to have someone constantly irritate, compete, compare and criticize you to remind you that you are not up to your mark, you are not good enough and got to work hard. To have an opponent or many opponents is not important. What is important is whether how you want to take advantage of these opponents by creating an opponent edge.
Having an opponent edge means possessing an advantage over your opponent. Before you can accurately identify your opponent, it's crucial to first define and analyze your strategic planning; Firstly, find out what do you want to achieve, who you want yourself to be? Next, make a list of quality personalities your opponent possess and try to work toward that direction. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent? What are strategies and goals of your opponent? How do they draw in admiral, friends, revenue and success in their life? What, if anything, makes them stand out from others?
If you don't have this vital information, get it quickly. You shouldn't live in awe of your opponent, nor should you fear them, but you must find out who they are and what makes them attractive to the world. Assessing your opponent openly and honestly will play a key role in helping you develop a opponent edge.
Once you have developed an opponent edge, maintaining it will be a daily challenge. It will require you to look into your crystal ball and attempt to forecast where the influences and changes in your life will come from, and what you can do to stay ahead of the game. It will demand that you continuously track your opponent and their future plans. You will also need to recognize that through the course of time you needs may adapt to variety of circumstances, flexible and willing to change.
The following questions are designed to help you determine whether you have created an opponent edge:
- Have I clearly defined my goal and know who I want myself to be?
- Who are my opponents?
- What is my clear-cut strategy and plan for success?
- Do I regularly track my opponent's moves?
- Do I take advantage of my opponent’s weaknesses?
- What have I learned from my opponent’s mistakes?
- What have I learned from my opponent’s strengths?
- Do I take advantage of competitive opportunities?
- Do I posses a uniqueness that easily separates it from my opponent?
- Would I pay to equip myself with knowledge and experiences?
- How do my personality compare with the people around me?
- Who are the people I can talk to openly about my opponents?
- Am I sensitive to my opponent’s remark?
- What am I looking for after achieving my goal?
Gathering data on all of your opponents could, in itself, be a full-time job. To make it easier on yourself, you should realize up front that tracking each and every opponent every day of the week is probably impossibility. Therefore, you should break your opponents into categories and prioritize them, asking yourself who poses the biggest threat. The following are suggested ways to categorize your opponent:
Head-On
These are the opponents that compete most directly with you. They are the colleges or family members. They compare you to them in terms of ability, knowledge, outlook, dressing, attractiveness and etc. These opponents should be tracked on a weekly basis.
First-Tier Opponents
These opponents compete with you, but not for everything. They may try to woo a particular kind of people in your surrounding from you, or they may be similar to you only in a certain area. This is an important group to stay on top of because they may decide to expand and compete with you more directly. You should track them at least one to two times per month.
Indirect Opponents
These opponents tend to be in the background. You only run into them occasionally. Their threat usually causes very little damage. But make no mistake about it; these opponents are still definite opponents. They need to be watched because there is no telling what rabbits they might pull out of their hats when you least expect it. It's better to be prepared.
In tracking your opponents, it is important to chart their strengths and weakness. By comparing their strengths to your own, you will clearly see where the threats to your future may lie. By examining their weaknesses, you may find direct opportunities.
Though you will spend less time tracking some opponents and more time tracking others, it is important that you track them all. A common mistake is to underestimate certain opponents. By closing your eyes to what is out there, you can put yourself at a huge disadvantage.
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