When I was a kid, we used to ride our bicycles everywhere. If one rider was to leave earlier, the infamous: “go ahead, I’ll catch up” was doomed to be a broken promise. Leaving only a mere five minutes later on a one hour trip would almost always result in meeting one another at the destination instead of en route.
In motorsports, overtaking is usually a risky maneuver. Imagine getting caught in Michael Schumacher’s slipstream at the first long straight after start/finish on Spa Francorchamps. Adrenaline rushing through your body. At 350 km/h, braking a split second later could mean the difference between becoming world champion or getting gravely injured.
Catching up is, generally speaking, difficult. What’s true of traveling and sports is also true of entrepreneurship.
Catching up to a competitor is equally challenging. Ernest Hemingway once said: “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
Focus on you. Focus on the added value your company creates. Playing catch-up is a challenging game to win.