It’s Healthy
When I encourage people to compete, I often hear negative responses. I have heard that (in sales) competition brings out the worst in people. I guess in some cases that’s true, but not in most.

You do NOT have to be #1 to Win
When you compete you win. When a group of people race to the finish line, only ONE of them gets there first, but ALL of them get there faster than they would if they were not racing.

Team Competition
A great example of positive competitive spirit can be seen at The Olympics. Every country that is represented competes fiercely with the athletes from other countries. But, they also compete with their own team members.

Going for the Gold
While each member of every team would like to be #1, there’s only one Gold Medal. There’s also a lot of fame and fortune in the future of that Gold Medal winner. In spite of all that’s at stake, they cheer their team mates on, and they celebrate with the winner. The competition never gets ugly. I have heard it said that you cannot pay a nice person enough money to be mean or nasty. It’s not about the prize or the money, it’s about who you are.

How long would a group of football fans sit in a stadium full of people and watch 22 men bump heads if there was no score board? How long would the players keep playing without keeping score?
As silly as these questions may sound, too many businesses do just that. To keep the game (business) alive you must be keeping score during the game, not just after it’s over.
Monthly, weekly, daily and even hourly goals with a performance track of some sort will keep things lively and interesting, and allow you to make adjustments before it is too late.
If you are not doing this you should be. If you don’t know how, find out.
Make your business fun and people will not play “other games” while there.