From: http://www.bizjournals.com/

Running a business doesn’t seem to have much in common with professional athletics, but the similarities are surprising. As champions do, each company looks up to the greats, creates a vision, and uses grit and discipline to earn its way to the top.

Michael Phelps had to jump in a pool for the first time, just asMark Zuckerberg had to hack his initial line of code.

Along their journeys, gold medalists and business leaders know that true competition is internal and deals more with refining oneself than reacting to or following others. So while every consumer electronics company was fighting to put the iPod out of business, Apple invented the iPhone — not to chase competition but to create opportunities.

My company lives by a commitment to be 1 percent better each day — collectively and individually. Rather than focus on our competitors, we concentrate on making each customer’s experience incrementally better than the last. While our goal seems modest, it results in massive progress over the course of weeks, months, and years.

To hone your effort internally, ignore your competition, and embrace the status quo as your biggest competitor, use these four insights:

1. Focus on Your Vision and Not Your Competition, Even in the Beginning

In every investor pitch, there’s a standard slide that outlines the company’s competition. While it’s important to thoroughly understand your market, don’t get too caught up in others. Focus on painting a well-defined vision for the future and how to better serve your customers.

Like the image on a jigsaw puzzle box, your vision should guide every decision to support the bigger picture.

2. Base Pricing on Your Personal Costs

Provided that you don’t sell a commodity, you operate your business efficiently, and you deliver a product your clients want, you should determine pricing by placing a fair margin on top of your costs. Price below that threshold, and you’re out of business. Price above, and the efficiency of markets play through — and you lose market share.

Sometimes your pricing will be far inside the competition’s, and sometimes it will be above the competition’s ’s, but it will always be relative to your costs and services.

3. Look at the Drivers of Outcomes

Remember, key performance indicators and financial results are outcomes, not drivers of success. Just as athletes focus on training more than statistics, you must focus on business drivers such as strategy, talent, capital, and brand — it’s the difference between being proactive and being reactive.

4. Mirror the Companies You Respect

Consider adopting best practices from wherever you find them, regardless of industry, because successful businesses ultimately win customers’ hearts and minds. In particular, business-to-business services can learn a lot from retailers because they make every decision with the individual in mind.

Outcomes always improve when businesses emphasize creating value and improving user experience.

Athletes don’t play sports for their competitors, and you’re not in business for your competition. Bring the attention back to your customer and your performance to see that you compete against only your own status quo.