I have great respect for Vivek wadhwa of Harvard/Duke. Some of his papers/articles about globalization & immigration are eye openers for many. I follow him on twitter. One of his recent articles talks about why losing a B-school biz plan competition is actually better than winning?
You can read the complete article here à http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/28/winners-curse-why-losing-a-b-school-biz-plan-competition-may-be-good-for-your-startup/
Vivek talks about how one of his students who lost in a biz plan contest (Duke’s Elevator Pitch challenge) & why he thinks that is actually good! The point he raises in this context is something very familiar with us in our everyday lives. I absolutely agree with the research findings that Vivek quoted below. (click on the image, if the resolution is not clear)
When I look around, I could think of several examples (especially in entertainment & sports) that fit perfectly with the above research findings. As a kid, I was a big fan of Indian cricket team and used to closely follow the careers of many “budding” cricketers. If someone plays well in a season in the state level tournaments, media creates a big hype and as a result, this “kid” becomes a star overnight with lot of endorsements & fan following. And that “fame” changes everything. In most cases I have seen, these “kids” fall into this hype “trap” and think they achieved the peaks already. Very few of them could actually sense the reality & focus on the career to make it to the national team. I am sure this can be applied to NBA/NFL too!!
So, winning in every competition/race is not necessarily good! Some “wins” come with curses attached & we need to know how to handle those!!
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