There’s a moment in business where competitiveness begins to feel necessary. Nothing on the surface is going wrong; there’s steady growth and an organic rhythm in the team. Yet a whisper of doubt tells the leadership team that they can do more if they compare themselves to the neighbouring garden.
When comparison replaces understanding
Let’s be clear, founders don’t suddenly abandon their values. It’s usually a subtle shift where they stop questioning what their decisions are being referenced against. So when attention turns outward, policies and procedures begin to lose their original purpose.
“It’s not through intent, but through substitution.”
The relationship problem at the centre of competitiveness
In personal life, relationships are not sustained through comparison. A person does not maintain friendships by outshining others. Multiple relationships can coexist because each one serves a different role, a different understanding, a different need. Business relationships function in much the same way.
When competitiveness becomes the dominant reference point, the business stops relating to its customers on their own terms. Instead, decisions are shaped in response to others who are not part of that relationship at all.
At that point, policies are no longer written for the customer. They are measured against something else external to the ecosystem.
If this Insight has surfaced questions about decision-making, boundaries or expectations beginning to take root, the private mailing list is the space for reflection.
Policy templates as gestures, not protection
“It’s at this stage, competitiveness feels unavoidable.”
The cost that appears later
A pause worth taking
This is the work of CAS Ltd, where The Ethical Strategist works with founders to recognise the early signals of misalignment.
When you’re ready to explore what’s sitting beneath the surface of your business, reserve a conversation worth having.
