By Dr. Ruth Gotian, Contributor
Can competitors be friends or go so far as being collaborators? Can they support each other’s success with pride and admiration? Of course, they can, and it makes each person’s work more potent and better, richer and brimming with innovative ideas.
Last week, Thinkers50, the premier listing of global management thinkers, announced its 2021 ranking of the world’s top management thinkers and the recipients of its 11 Distinguished Achievement Awards. The foremost thinkers and doers who are leaders in their fields gathered virtually for an event that has been called over the last twenty years the “Oscars of Management Thinking.” You would think with that many high achievers in the virtual room, the competition would be fierce, and they’d be throwing virtual daggers; their congratulatory remarks would appear synthetic at best. But the exact opposite was the case. The Thinkers50 award nominees and recipients are competitors who are also collaborators who have deep-found respect and admiration for each other’s work and generously amplify their achievements.