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September 30, 2004

Pyramids of Excellence - Winners

When we think of competition, we think of winners and losers. We celebrate winners, we denigrate losers. A silver medal is a loss. Final four and out is a loss. National League Playoffs is a loss. This perspective, however, diminishes the richness and depth of the competitive experience.

There is an apprehension, even a revulsion, at competition within our society. It is tolerated it certain unimportant arenas, like football. It is even tolerated in some critical areas where there is a recognition of the mandatory requirement for unusual skill and competency, such as neurosurgery or space flight.

But in most areas competition is frowned upon as detrimental to the psychic health of the participants since, by definition, most participants will be losers.

Breaking this perception and then building a healthy competitive society requires a reorientation on the meaning of winning and losing.

The common imagery is of a triumphant victor standing atop a pile of bodies. All defeated, all vanquished. All fodder to the appetite of the victor. Losers feed winners. Winners consume losers. Lion and antelope.

Humans do not want to be antelope. They do not want to participate in an activity where their energy and skill and effort is used and discarded. So, when given the option, humans back out of competition perceived as exploitive or threatening.

This is not the proper picture of human competition. Competition needs to be redefined as a form of stewardship. As a combined effort to lift everybody to a higher level of performance. With the top performers standing on the shoulders of everyone else in the pyramid. Everyone who competes holds up those who compete to the next level.

The person who runs the mile in 3:50, thereby driving the winner to a 3:49 win, has made a core contribution to the winner. He drove the winner to excel and exceed what he would otherwise have accomplished.

Thus, the competitive environment can be seen differently. It does not have winners and losers, it has winners and drivers. It has those who win and those that drive them hard to achieve the level of excellence that accomplished the win.

In each competitive arena, we can identify different levels of contribution to success. Each is critical.

The winner is the person who comes in first, today, maybe tomorrow. Who so excels that they are recognized and affirmed and rewarded for achievement.

The driver is the person who pushed the winner so hard that in order to win the winner had to reach extraordinary levels of competence to come in ahead of the driver. Every driver has the capacity to be next week’s winner. Every driver is also driven toward their own level of excellence by the winner of the competition.

The pacer also plays a crucial role in the eventual rush to excellence of the drivers and winners. Pacers are those who compete strongly enough to be critical to the competition, but who do not have the talent, skill or drive necessary to be a winner themselves. They are the NBA players who do not start and only play when a starter needs to sit, is injured or fouls out.

Pacers run with the winners and drivers for three out of four laps. Pacers are the practice squad, the second string, the utility infielder. Without pacers there can be no game, or the game is greatly diminished.

Pacers also determine the outcome. A second string cornerback can knock down a star wide receiver, a low seed basketball team can eliminate a high seed. Any winning team that does not treat every opponent as an excellent opponent will get beaten by a team with less raw talent and skill. Every playoff season has the wrecks of strong teams defeated by less capable teams.

The competitive pyramid is a giant human pyramid with each level standing on the level below. The broader and deeper the lower level, the higher the pyramid can reach.

Sam paces Charlie in the elementary schoolyard basketball court. Charlie drives Jamal to excellence. Jamal makes the middle school team and drives Shawn to excellence. Shawn makes the Junior Varsity and driver Hap to make the Varsity. Hap is driven by Mark and overcomes Mark’s ferocity to gain a scholarship. Hap then drives Devon to excellence on the Freshman team. Devon moves to Varsity and drives Isreal to all star performance. Isreal is recruited to the NBA and joins the practice squad. On the practice squad he drives Michael to extraordinary performance. Michael plays in the NBA as a backup guard. Michael drives Thomas to outstanding performance. Thomas becomes a superstar starter.

Thomas is now standing on the shoulders of Sam, Charlie, Jamal, Shawn, Hap, Mark, Devon, Isreal and Michael and the ten thousand other pacers and drivers who drove him to excellence at the top of the pyramid. Thomas would never have achieved his level of skill and accomplishment without being driven and paced by all of those who supported him in his success.

This pattern applies to every area of human endeavor. If you want extraordinary performance and the contribution to human experience expressed through such performance, then we must honor the contribution of every pacer, every driver, and every winner. All contribute and all will reach the highest level of achievement and contribution through the fierce competition that drives to excellence.

For the best doctors, compete. For the best teachers, compete. For the best dentists, compete. For the best congressional leaders, compete. For the best breakfast cereal, compete. Everyone benefits. Everyone wins. Therefore, celebrate everyone who joins the competitive arena, whether as a pacer, a driver or a winner.
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Posted by creagb at September 30, 2004 11:43 AM