????本文是與《創(chuàng)業(yè)者》雜志（Entrepreneur）的合作內(nèi)容。下文最初發(fā)表于Entrepreneur.com。

????要想取得商業(yè)上的成功，就要勇于迎接競爭——但不要讓競爭打倒你。如果你能在尊重對(duì)手與擊敗對(duì)手之間找到平衡點(diǎn)，你就掌握了成功的秘訣。

????而實(shí)際情況往往是，企業(yè)經(jīng)營者們對(duì)競爭對(duì)手的舉動(dòng)過于關(guān)注。創(chuàng)辦一家企業(yè)有許多工作要做，很容易就會(huì)認(rèn)為別人的企業(yè)比你自己的更優(yōu)秀（甚至一門心思地去探究對(duì)方的一舉一動(dòng)）。這種想法確實(shí)不無裨益：針對(duì)競爭對(duì)手進(jìn)行市場調(diào)查，你就可以知道如何才能提供更好的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)。正是出于這個(gè)原因，我偶爾也會(huì)搭乘其他航空公司的航班——當(dāng)你發(fā)現(xiàn)了競爭對(duì)手需要面對(duì)的難題，并竭力想出好的解決辦法的時(shí)候，出色的點(diǎn)子就會(huì)冒出來。

????密切關(guān)注市場競爭狀況是有益的，但你必須集中精力關(guān)注自己的企業(yè)團(tuán)隊(duì)、產(chǎn)品以及服務(wù)。與競爭對(duì)手亦步亦趨的企業(yè)肯定總是落于人后，從而從根本上催生一種被動(dòng)保守的企業(yè)文化。被動(dòng)保守的企業(yè)拒絕創(chuàng)新，很快就會(huì)被消費(fèi)者拋棄。歸根結(jié)底，如果同樣的產(chǎn)品別人做的更好，消費(fèi)者為什么要買你的呢？提出遠(yuǎn)大的理想，努力創(chuàng)新，并集中精力開發(fā)新的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)，你的公司也會(huì)成為別人爭相模仿的優(yōu)秀企業(yè)。

????多年以來，維珍航空公司（Virgin）曾經(jīng)歷過無數(shù)大大小小的競爭——而我們從來都是坦然面對(duì)。有些時(shí)候，初期友善的對(duì)立會(huì)升級(jí)成為激烈的對(duì)抗。應(yīng)對(duì)這種事態(tài)的關(guān)鍵在于，懂得什么時(shí)候要表明立場，什么時(shí)候要一笑以置之。

????我舉個(gè)例子。最近我前往墨西哥城，參加我們新創(chuàng)公司墨西哥維珍移動(dòng)公司（Virgin Mobile Mexico）的發(fā)布會(huì)。在我抵達(dá)之前，一位競爭對(duì)手大肆制造謠言，說我們將在墨西哥城推出“維珍玉米餅”。當(dāng)然，壓根沒有這家公司，制造謠言不過就是為了混淆視聽。于是，我邀請(qǐng)墨西哥的幾位知名博主吃了個(gè)午餐（當(dāng)然，我們吃了玉米餅！），向他們介紹了我們的好幾名員工，并向他們耐心解釋我們的移動(dòng)公司與其他競爭對(duì)手的不同之處。

????我一向直截了當(dāng)，但是在與競爭對(duì)手打交道的時(shí)候，稍微采取一些策略有時(shí)能更好地達(dá)到溝通的效果。今年早些時(shí)候BLAH Airlines（指維珍航空的廣告中虛擬的一家航空公司，暗指其競爭對(duì)手）的病毒式營銷就是一個(gè)很好的例子。在BLAH Airlines簡陋的網(wǎng)站上，“You will get there（你會(huì)到達(dá)那里）”的標(biāo)語顯得非常沒有創(chuàng)意，下面則列舉了其航班一堆的“特別”之處，例如窗戶及扶手。這間以米黃色為主色調(diào)、平淡無奇、令人乏味的公司，還在上個(gè)月推出了時(shí)間長達(dá)六個(gè)小時(shí)的視頻，暗示著在BLAH Airlines航班上的每一分鐘是如何度日如年。

????人們很快就意識(shí)到，維珍美國航空公司（Virgin America）是這一整個(gè)事件的幕后推手。不少民眾表示，BLAH讓他們聯(lián)想到我們真實(shí)的競爭對(duì)手，并且突出了維珍美國航空的與眾不同之處。只要憑借一點(diǎn)這樣的想象力和高超的策略，我們的團(tuán)隊(duì)就能夠在競爭中脫穎而出——而且無需提及任何競爭對(duì)手公司的名稱。

????的確，航空業(yè)是一個(gè)因競爭而興盛的行業(yè)。維珍澳洲航空公司（Virgin Australia）與澳洲航空公司（Qantas）的對(duì)決早有大量資料可循，而維珍大西洋航空公司（Virgin Atlantic）與其競爭對(duì)手英國航空公司（British Airways）多年來的歷史恩怨同樣出名。事實(shí)上，我們希望將維珍大西洋航空公司打造成為英國行業(yè)領(lǐng)頭羊的努力，確實(shí)讓英國航空公司如坐針氈。在上世紀(jì)九十年代，英國航空向我們實(shí)施了一個(gè)人盡皆知的“詭計(jì)”——包括指使乘客向維珍航空潑臟水，并通過媒體肆意傳播捏造的故事，對(duì)此，我們向法院提起了訴訟，并最終獲勝。這一事件在我們員工內(nèi)部得到廣泛傳播，我們戲稱這是“英國航空的圣誕禮物”！

????This post is in partnership with Entrepreneur. The article below was originally published at Entrepreneur.com.

????If you want to be successful in business, you need to welcome your competition with open arms — just don’t let them walk all over you. Strike the right balance between respecting your rivals and focusing on how you can beat them, and you’ll have a winning formula.

????It’s not unusual for an entrepreneur to become overly preoccupied with what his competitors are up to. Starting a business is a lot of work, and it’s easy to convince yourself that the grass is greener on your rivals’ side of the fence (and to even become obsessed with peeking over the fence to see what they’re up to). These feelings do serve an important purpose: By doing market research on your competitors, you can work out exactly how to provide a product or service that is superior. This is the reason that I sometimes fly on other airlines – often, great ideas are sparked when you notice a problem that a competitor faces and try to find a good solution yourself.

????While it’s beneficial to keep an eye on the competition, you must remain focused on your own team, and on your own products and services. Companies that are always trying to keep up with the Joneses will always be a step behind, and this can foster a culture that is, at its core, reactionary. Businesses that are reactionary forgo innovation and can quickly become irrelevant to consumers. After all, what’s the point in buying something from you that another company has already done better? Show ambition, put some effort into creativity and focus on developing the next big thing, and your company will emerge as the one that others want to copy.

????Over the years at Virgin, we’ve had many battles with our competition — and we’ve welcomed them all. Sometimes what starts off as friendly opposition escalates into antagonism. The key to dealing with cases like these is knowing when to take a stand, and when to laugh it off.

????Here’s an example. I headed to Mexico City recently to help launch our new company, Virgin Mobile Mexico. Before my arrival, a competitor leaked a fake story that we were launching “Virgin Tacos” there. There is no such company, of course, but rather than make a fuss about it, I met up with some of Mexico’s leading bloggers for lunch (we had tacos, of course!), introduced them to a few of our staff and explained why our mobile company can provide consumers with something different than the competition.

????I usually favor directness, but when it comes to dealing with competitors, sometimes your point can be better communicated through subtlety. The viral launch of BLAH Airlines earlier this year is a great example. Below a deeply uninspiring tagline that assures passengers that “you will get there,” BLAH’s clunky website lists a few “special” features on their flights like windows and armrests. This beige, bland, boring business also launched a six-hour video last month showing what every excruciating minute on a BLAH Airlines flight was like.

????People quickly realized that Virgin America was behind the whole thing. Many said that BLAH reminded them of our real-life rivals and highlighted how different Virgin America is. With some imagination and subtlety, our team was able to get one over on the competition — without mentioning any company by name.

????Indeed, the aviation industry is one that thrives on competition. Virgin Australia’s battles with Qantas are well-documented, as is Virgin Atlantic’s long-standing rivalry with British Airways. In fact, our efforts to establish Virgin Atlantic as the leading airline in the U.K. has certainly gotten under British Airways’ skin. After their well-known “dirty tricks” campaign against us in the 1990s – which included passenger poaching and planting hostile stories in the press against Virgin — we sued them and eventually settled out of court. The proceeds were all distributed to our staff in what became known as the “BA Christmas Bonus”!