I recently posted about Amazon’s 10-K listing publishers (and just about everyone else) as potential competitors. A colleague whose opinion I admire greatly commented on that post elsewhere, and those comments gave me a second wind of thought.
See, Amazon is right on in looking at even their own vendors and partners as competitors. (I just thought it was silly the way PW threw the comment out there without much backup.) It’s just savvy business planning by Amazon. Not only do I not take offense to it, nor am I worried about it…. I see it for the opportunity it truly could turn out to be.
With something like this simple Amazon disclosure, or the launch of Quamut.com by B&N, or restructuring within Borders, or a hostile takeover attempt of Circuit City by Blockbuster: If you turn these things over and over in your mind enough times, and if you’re truly paying attention to what it is we do in this industry, and if you know your own company and product well…and if you can’t find a way to see OPPORTUNITY where others see problems, then you’re not trying hard enough. Then you’re not giving enough. Maybe it’s “not your job” to be the one to step up and dig within the anxiety of a change and figure out where the little nuggets of opportunity are buried. But if you don’t do it, someone else will, guaranteed.
Every time we encounter a change like this, we should embrace it and give it due diligence and figure out how we can be first to unearth the good fortune that might just lie within. How can we help our partners through hard times? How can we team with our trusted business partners to dream up new ideas? How can we contribute something new and positive to a changing situation?
This is what I choose to do, and I know it’s the best way to continue to thrive.
