Lawyers Learning From Your Rival

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Lawyers: Learning from Your Rival Over the holiday while working out I listened to a wonderful interview Lewis Howes did of Simon Sinek. Click here to listen. Simon Sinek has published a new book: The Infinite Game. I haven’t read it yet, but after listening to the interview, I will read it soon. During the interview, near the end, they talked about the difference between competitors and rivals. If you go to about the 41st minute of the interview, you can hear what Simon Sinek says on that subject. I will try to paraphrase here. A competitor is someone you set out to beat. A rival is someone out there you believe is worthy of comparison. A rival forces us to focus on improving ourselves. Someone who is a rival at the top of his or her game who exposes your weaknesses giving you the opportunity to improve. If you don’t have time to listen to the podcast, or watch the video above, take time to read this Inc. Magazine article:  Simon Sinek: Here’s Why Everyone Should Have a Work Rival. In it Simon Sinek says: “A Worthy Rival can push us in a way that few others can â€" not even our coaches, mentors or advisors,” he contends. “Traditional competition forces us to take on an attitude of winning; a Worthy Rival inspires us to take on an attitude of improvement. The former focuses our attention on the outcome; the latter focuses our attention on process.”   I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.