There’s Room In The Sandbox For Everyone. Moving From Competitor To Co-Creator

THE STORY

Competitor: One selling or buying goods or services in the same market as another

Last week, I had the privilege of co-leading a workshop with the amazing Amy Bucher from Mad*Pow. (You mean the people that do the same work you do, Shawn? Yes, those people!) It was an AWESOME experience and I hope to do it again soon.

In the workshop, Amy and I taught a group of leaders and innovators in the Pharma industry how to use design thinking in their organizations and teams. Through this process, I had one of the greatest professional “ah-ha” moments that I’ve had in a long time: There’s room in the sandbox for everyone!

Let me be clear. I have never looked at Mad*Pow as a competitor. I have always loved their work and admired the impact they’ve made in our field. But, according to the definition above, we are technically competitors.

WHAT I LEARNED AND WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

The mentality of being competitors makes me mad. We work in a complex world and an even more complex industry (healthcare). We’re all looking to change the healthcare industry so that the patients and the caregivers—or how about we just say “the humans”—get the type of care they want and deserve.

In the workshop that Amy and I lead together, someone asked how the pharma industry could help move things forward. My response? Maybe everyone should sit around the same table and move things forward together. (This is happening in certain areas within the healthcare industry, but it’s not happening enough to make a significant impact.)

Here is my learning, which I hope speaks to you: There are several organizations, teams, and individuals trying to make a difference in the world. So, climb in the sandbox with someone you have never thought of playing or working with. Get in their sandbox. Learn what they are doing and apply it to what you are doing.

We need more people tackling the world’s complex problems. My team and I were working with another partner this week and I love this comment they made, “Even the journey from diagnosis to the unknown can be an extraordinary experience.” How can you work with your perceived competitors to create life-changing, extraordinary experiences that make a bigger impact in the world?

WHAT I CAN DO AND WHAT YOU CAN DO

Here is my challenge to you this week: Go find the one person, organization, or team that works in the same space as you and start the journey to co-create and collaborate with them. If we are truly going to transform healthcare, all of us need to be in the same sandbox together.

Our you willing to get in that sandbox? 

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