Last year, the Polish national volleyball team won 29 from 31 official games, winning all important competitions in 2023: Men's Nations League, European Championship and Olympics qualification tournament. It was one of the best single seasons of any team in the sport’s history, even though the team did not manage to stay healthy and had some important players out for a part or the entire season.
The team has been coached since 2022 by the volleyball legend, Serbian former player Nicola Grbic. He has a natural toughness in himself and his way of looking at sport and life has made a lasting impact on the team, which under his coaching has reached a number 1 rank in the world.
I find some of his comments very much aligned with the thinking about systems’ resilience. System to improve its resilience needs to constantly test its boundaries. Without being challenged it does not improve its capability to operate in the difficult situations. Grbic emphasizes the importance of close wins. He believes that they create the championship capabilities.
‘You create antibodies in difficult situations because you've been in that situation before, you know how to behave. You then play your best when you find yourself against the wall. I'm not saying that a team like that can't be beaten, because we're not the only ones who have been through it, but it's a great quality.’ Nicola Grbic.
Sports are a zero-sum game, only one team becomes a champion. Participating in close wins does not mean anything if you continuously lose those games. The winner takes it all. The emotional load of taking those fights is large.
In business however we can coexist with the toughest competitors and be the winners in our own game: growing sales, profits and create resilient business. Therefore, the incentive to engage in the close, tough races is much greater, close games have a positive sum. Michael Porter have identified back in 1990 the conditions for the companies to reach international success. They included tough competitors and demanding customers. Like in sports, they will push you to your limits and force to improve. In the contrary to sports, however, those conditions can create collaborative eco-system, which creates many winners, not just one.
‘Companies should create pressures for innovation; seek out the toughest competitors and most-demanding customers.’ Michael Porter
Is this good in this light to find a niche without or with little competition, clients who love you so much that they don’t push you to do more? Short term, certainly yes, if you want, however, to build a long term, resilience business it is not a desired space to be.
Practical hints
Compete with organizations and teams you admire most.
Look after your most-demanding customers.
If you don’t see them in the space you play, try to expand, and find them.
Resources
Porter M., (1990) - The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Harvard Business Review.
Picture: PZPS
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