Nothing wrong with healthy competition

The Cisco Challenge allows companies to compete against each other and this can have real benefits, writes Philip White

We often talk about the competitive nature of the IT industry, the need to grab every opportunity and seize advantage wherever possible. But all this seems to pale into insignificance in the face of the Cisco Challenge multi-sport event, an environment so ruthless I am actually undergoing an operation as a result of it.

The Cisco Challenge has become a bit of an IT industry fixture. There’s no business to worry about, just the ceaseless pressure of trying not to get hurt. Or – far worse – come last. It’s a place where companies large and small, some natural rivals and some business partners, get the chance to compete on a different playing field.

From a personal point of view, this year’s event didn’t go exactly as planned. Our team number was 13. Our hire car burst into flames on the way to the first event, our hotel was struck by lightning, I was knocked out cold and later dislocated my shoulder (causing the injury for which I’m shortly to go under the surgeon’s knife). But fortunately, this is a team event and we eventually finished in a pretty respectable place.

So why do we do it? Isn’t all that posturing, competing, rivalry and one-upmanship something the IT industry should have outgrown by now? Probably, but personally I believe there is still a valid place for such events since they do have a lasting impact on both the company internally and, of course, our relationships with other companies.

At Syscap, like many sales-based organisations, we set a lot of store by teamwork and, since we’re a relatively small company, a team of 10 for the Cisco Challenge represents quite a large proportion of our workforce. Watching nearly 10 per cent of your employees pulling together as a team in a way that many training courses fail to achieve makes it well worth the effort. On returning to work, those individuals seem able to maintain a level of enthusiasm and comradeship that inevitably filters through the rest of the company.

Despite the competitive grip of corporate challenge events, there’s always time to reflect – particularly from a stretcher – on the skill, dedication and commitment of others in the team. These are traits that we value highly in our day-to-day working lives, and although it might be nice to start and finish as the strongest team in the competition, it is perhaps more rewarding to witness a group of colleagues coming together, building confidence, overcoming challenges and realising their full potential.

From a business perspective, it’s a chance for smaller companies such as ours to compete with some of the IT and finance industries’ biggest multi-nationals and develop lasting and profitable relationships. I wouldn’t exactly call it a level playing field – particularly since Scania’s team also happen to be Swedish fell-running champions – but with everyone striving for the same goal, it’s a good time to realise our similarities as well as our obvious differences.

And what’s wrong with a bit of competition? The Cisco Challenge is made up of a group of companies, all experts in their fields, having to react and adapt to seemingly endless obstacles, trying to stay ahead despite adverse conditions, and ultimately hoping to be around to do it all again next year. Sound anything like an industry you know?