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When I teach business communications workshops, I often include a simple game. I break the group into four teams of ten – more teams or fewer depending on total number of workshop participants.  The teams sit in a line behind tables and each gets a pack of 50 index cards.  The goal is to get all 50 cards down the line first – while adhering to specific rules about hand placement and passing methods.  And, if a card drops, it has to go back to the first person and start its journey all over again.

The point?  None yet.

However, once a team is declared the first round winner, all teams are given 15 minutes to assess their performance and make changes to their set-up and process –  while still sticking to the rules. Some move into a circle. Some rearrange the line-up, most often changing the first and last person. Most get pretty creative — once a team tried to recruit from the winning team.

But guess what?  About 99 % of the time, those winners spend their 15 minutes smiling and chatting. They don’t assess and they don’t change a thing.  They figure they’ve got this task down, and they’ll win again.  But they never do – really never.

So…now the point.  Your business or product might be at the top of the proverbial heap, but you can’t expect it to stay there if you aren’t paying attention and constantly coming up with new and better ways of doing what you do.  Why?  Because that’s what your competition is doing.  They’re thinking up ways to get those cards down the line before you next time – and they will if you don’t match their creativity and drive to get ahead, no matter where you stand today.