Are We Our Worst Competition?

Amidst all the chatter about the poor hotel conditions in Sochi, the spring-like weather in Russia where it should be winter, Bob Costas’ terror alert worthy pink eye, and of course – the ring #fail, there is another Olympic story I’ve been tracking: Team USA’s Mach 39 Hi Tech Speed Skating Suits!

To give a little background, this years suits were designed by Under Armour and Lockheed Martin. On paper seems like an awesome partnership – high performance sports attire meets aerodynamic authority. The suits were tested for two years by Lockheed experts who used high-speed cameras to analyze how air flows over and around a skater’s body in key positions. This was done by filming mannequins wearing the suits in 300 mile an hour wind tunnels. Certainly seems like every angle was covered, and no expense was spared. Just one little problem; The US Speed Skating Team tanked at the games and traditionally this is one of America’s strongest winter sports! 

Suit-Gate Begins!

Since Team USA (men and women!) did well at the recent World Cup Speed Skating events, and has been performing poorly at the current Olympic games, the new suit has been given center stage as the cause. It is the only overall change, and the only thing the entire team has in common, so logically it makes sense if you remove all the other factors that contribute to a win or a loss.

Fingers have been pointing to a vent on the back of the suit that was supposed to help heat escape, but in actuality might have been letting air in and lifting skaters out of the low positions needed to generate maximum speed. A few skaters covered up the vent with a patch, while Team USA received permission to fly in new suits in time for this past weekend’s races. Unfortunately, none of this made any difference in their overall performance.

Mind Over Matter?

I read some thoughts from fellow Speed Skaters and Coaches about Suit-Gate. It was interesting that the general consensus was if the athletes believed their suits were the issue, then that belief was enough to hinder their confidence and performance. Others pointed out that before you label something as “the fastest suit in the world” it’s probably a good idea to test it on the athletes who will be skating in them, on the track they will be racing on, in the country the race is held, vs. a wind tunnel filled with mannequins several thousand miles away. 

The Gold Medal Point Of All This…

TEAM USA Speed Skating beat itself, by trying to beat everyone else, by wearing a Mach 39 Hi Tech Super Suit. Trying to gain a slight competitive edge over their fellow Skaters in this manner essentially knocked them out of the game.

What Are You Competing For?

There is healthy competition, that which pushes us to do better, to think smarter, to create more efficient and effective products, and then there is competition that is based on winning at all costs, even if it costs you.

If you apply the Super Suit analogy to Printers, at some point lowering pricing and providing services at no cost to win jobs might knock you out of the game. And as our good friends at the lottery remind us – you have to be in it, to win it.

Run A Smart Race At All Times

While most of us don’t race around tracks for a living, we do represent the global print and marketing industry. We also represent our companies, our communities and ourselves; and are judged on the quality of our work and our work performance. We sometimes face off against each other in boardrooms and pitch rooms, through RFP’s and estimates, product-by-product and service-by-service. 

We have more in common that unites us, than the things we allow to divide us, and collectively we all contribute to the bigger picture and greater good of the industry. This paper + that machine = a better product. That software + this process = leaner operations. Your X + their Y = a new technology for everyone to benefit from. All we need is the opportunity to see everything in one-place… sports has the Olympics, and now we have the International Print Day 24-Hour Global Virtual Conference!

For one day a year, anyone with a device and an Internet connection on planet Earth is welcome to join us in the spirit of greater good for the Print and Integrated Marketing Industry. Attendees will be able to learn about topics, products and services they might not have access to, and participating companies will be able to share their information across the globe.  For one day a year, we are not competitors; we are teammates, and that makes us all winners!

Register now! It’s free for all to attend and will reserve your spot. Five minutes now will save you hours of heartache if we max out on bandwidth!

PS: I think if you have a rock or more left in the target after all the rocks have come down the ice, you get some points!  Why don’t the commentators explain Curling before it starts? Not all of us grew up with a frozen tundra in our backyards!