The Competitor-Obsessed COO
COO who reacts to every internal initiative with 'but what is the competitor doing?' — running the company by watching the outside rather than building from within.
15 min
Duration
About this persona
Howard Park is not wrong that competitive intelligence matters. He is wrong that it matters more than everything else, and he has been wrong in that direction for long enough that internal initiatives have started dying in the planning phase because nobody can answer the competitor question to his satisfaction. The result: the company is slower than its own roadmap and faster than nothing, which is not a strategy. It is a defensive crouch.
Scenario
You are a product leader or senior executive presenting a product initiative that requires Howard's approval to proceed. The initiative has been delayed twice because Howard keeps requiring competitive analysis before approving the next phase, and the analysis always surfaces new questions. You are in this meeting to get a decision.
Skills tested
- holding internal conviction against external-reference distraction
- reframing competitive context without dismissing it
- moving a decision forward despite incomplete competitive information
- naming a behavioral pattern diplomatically
- keeping organizational momentum alive
What you'll practice
- How to get a decision from someone who uses research as a delay mechanism
- The difference between competitive awareness and competitive paralysis
- How to hold your own initiative's logic in the face of external-reference thinking
- What it sounds like to make someone aware of their own pattern without attacking them
Personality traits
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