ABSTRACT
This chapter is about the sixth deadly lie. Namely, that all competition must be killed, or at the very least beaten. While such binary thinking and win-lose mentality may be true in some sports, in the complex commercial world of business things are a little more nuanced. All markets are, in truth complex ecosystems and reducing the complexity of a commercial market down into an either/or option is unhelpful and untrue. To make profit – currently the single most prized outcome in any business – something must be sold for an amount greater than the cost of supplying or delivering that item. What happens to businesses, even efficient businesses when the goods and services that are offered in the marketplace are free or nearly free? What happens when the costs to produce those products and services are so low, due to the same technological advance that spurred the initial growth that there are no longer any barriers to entry into that market. What happens when the economies of scale that business has relied upon for centuries to increase efficiency and keep competitors out the market evaporate? Where is the profit then? How happy are those all-important shareholders then? What’s needed is collaboration not aggressive competition.
