Appraisal season is just around the corner. We get obsessed about showcasing why we are better than yesterday and why we deserve the best. Well, getting better to be the best might not be a good strategy. Here is why.

Back in the 70s, two large burger chains were at war in the U.S. McDonald’s had the first-mover advantage and stood at number one. Burger King was the challenger.

A few years into the war, a confidential McD’s consumer research document was leaked. The Research admitted that “Burger King’s quality is significantly higher than McDonald’s”. As one might think, this claim could have devasted McD. Well, in hindsight, it did not.

50 years later McDonald’s is still the largest burger chain in the world. On the land where burger wars were fought, Wendy’s is number two. Burger King stands at number three. This is true for other major geographies in the world too.

This is a marketing lesson that could be applied to our lives too. Does McDonalds make the best burgers? I don’t think so. Burger King objectively beats McD at burgers. But unfortunately, it doesn’t make it the best burger chain. Paradoxical but true.

Sometimes being better at what you do doesn’t help. All systems are not tuned toward qualitative metrics. Logic is the invention of man, not the universe.

Our workplaces are no different.

Playing the better “at” or better “than” card might not help. A point to keep in mind during this appraisal season!

Then what works? go figure out what works for McD. 🙂

hashtag#marketing hashtag#perceptions hashtag#career hashtag#growth