Dealing with competitors

When I was a young lad distributing newspapers in rural Ontario, I used strategic advantages to dominate my competitors. For instance, Jimmy my neighbour used a 3-speed bike to distribute The Globe & Mail along Bell Street, and my bike was just a single-speed rusty thing.

I knew Jim would trump me on the long term thanks to his better assets, so I used my screwdriver one night to loose up some of his bike components. Poor Jimmy, he and his bike ended up in the river one morning with a fresh load of newspaper. Jimmy was fine but wet, but he lost his job because that big burly Globe & Mail guy - Frank if I recall - thought he was pissed drunk that morning, how else do you end up in the river anyway? So I was awarded Jimmy's run in addition to mine because Frank knew I was a pretty square guy.

Today's business environment is no different, sometimes you have to be a little creative to crush your competitors. Here's an excellent article in the Telegraph Journal about CGI's ambition to dominate the IT world.

Let me outline you the best part:

Roach noted that in 1976 - the year CGI was formed - the company brought in about $138,000 in revenues. Today, the firm makes that much in less than three minutes.

I didn't end up billing 2 times your salary in 3 minutes because I'm a compassionate guy with a lot of "emotional intelligence" whatever this crap means. It's because I play to win, and winning means buying and milking competitors for what they're worth. This is called consolidation, and it sounds just like Jimmy barrelling down the street that morning toward the river.

So whenever there's a smaller firm in town that use unfair advantages to win lucrative contracts, I use an arsenal of tactics to undermine their position. For instance, I ask my local directors to spread the word that this smaller firm has difficulty paying its monthly bills so that its own employees start to worry about their job. It's usually sufficient to hire the more insecure ones at a lower salary, therefore reducing the headcount of the smaller firm. Which in turns diminishes the odds for them to win big contracts.

It would be negligent to disclose here all my tactics, but you get the idea.

We've always dreamt big, and while some of you have have difficulty grasping the full meaning of "big", you need to know that working for CGI is your path to greatness. Send me your resume today.