Example: A very successful entrepreneur, that I knew very well, was motivated by: “showing his former boss that he can build a better company”, and his goal was to reach an IPO at higher valuation than his previous boss company. During the life of the company he rejected acquisition offers only based on that, until he got what he wanted: an IPO at 4 times the valuation of his previous boss (the funny thing was that his former boss, the one who he was “competing” with, was an important investor in the company, so he “lost” in the competition, but laughed all the way to the bank

But, I didn’t get the feeling from Mark’s article that he said you had to beat your competitors at “their game.” His message was more about having a strong “will to win.”

Will to win is more than competitiveness. It’s about Ego, and ego is a good thing (so long as it’s tempered with humility). If you have a strong ego, which you should, you’ll be confident, and you’ll work to out perform anyone you consider a competitor. You should be the winner and the outcome is within your control. (at least you should think so)

And certainly many other people aren’t like that. I look at this issue as a part of the social tension between co-operation and competition. Most people want to be accepted by society, instead of try to dominate it and risk falling on your face. ‘Herd mentality’ isn’t just for VCs and high school dating!

As for Stevie Jobs, the question is – did he create the iPhone to achieve some sort of spiritually pure product, or try to develop something that blew all of the other guys out of the water? I really think it was the latter. The reason he enters highly competitive industries already is probably because his massive ego (and yes competitiveness) leads him to believe he can do better.

Steve Jobs is an eccentric, but most successful businessman, in my opinion. I am not sure if everyone should emulate his practices. I do consider him as a role model for entrepreneurs in certain aspects – quality, design, etc. Probably Parand’s example here is not apt. However, I agree with him that we all don’t need to be competition killers. Obviously we need to be aware of the competition, plan to be ahead of them and leap forward. Also, entrepreneurs have to work hard, often lengthy days and nights even to stay and succeed in business.

Large organizations such as banks and telecom companies also have this mentality that only one can survive in the industry. It is neither good for the companies nor good for the consumers. Hence multiple companies can survive in an industry, though the number differs from industry to industry.

My contention is not with the assertion that entrepreneurs must be fierce competitors, but with the implication that actively “competing” – flying down to a VC meeting to upstage a competitor – is a core part of what it takes win.

Jobs is one of the top 5 execs of our generation. And he’s one competitive mo fo.