THIS WAS A CONCEPT I WROTE ABOUT OVER A YEAR AGO WHEN ABOUT 15 PEOPLE WERE READING THE BLOG. IT IS A GOOD DISCUSSION TOPIC THAT IS WORTH YOUR BRAIN POWER…
In Sulphur Springs, Texas we have three big grocery stores: Wal-Mart (yeah, it’s a Super Center), Brookshires, and Piggly Wiggly. While all from time-to-time get customers, one dominates the grocery business in this town. The Wal-Mart Super Center is constantly packed. It has all the advantages: lower prices, more check out lines, ability to buy your kids superman pajamas and a plasma tv on the same trip, and open 24 hours everyday. Sure Brookshires and ”the Pig” have business or they would close, but Wal-Mart consistently out-do them. (Side note: I try to avoid Wal-Mart as much as possible because of the obscene amount of florescent light and there is always a load of people there.)
I watched some of this week’s PGA golf tournament on TV. It was not one of the four major golf tournaments; it was the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. The main reason I watched was to see if Tiger Woods, who is coming off major knee surgery, could get back to his dominant, winning ways. In fact, I found myself watching this seemingly insignificant golf tournament over the NCAA Elite Eight basketball games to see if Tiger could make a comeback. He only drilled a 12 foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational by one shot and match the largest comeback in his PGA Tour career. Yesterday he won at his third tournament after a nine month layover that included major knee surgery. The crazy thing is that nobody is surprised. He wins last year’s US Open on one leg and nobody is surprised. He has become so dominant in professional golf that it is expected that he will win and be better than everyone else simply by showing up. (Another side note: I find it hilarious that people can’t figure out why Tiger is so dominant compared to the other golfers. He is the only guy on tour that works out, that’s jacked, and that’s in shape. All the other guys look like my Uncle Hal. Think about it. It makes sense.)
So what does Wal-Mart and Tiger Woods have in common? They are dominant in what they do. The question I ask myself: Is it a good thing for something/someone to be so much better than every single one of their competitors? Is it a good thing for cities when Wal-Mart dominates sales? Is it good for the PGA when Tiger dominates every tournament? Is it a good thing that smaller, hometown grocery stores shut down or struggle month-to-month because Wal-Mart is down the street and they can’t compete? Is it a good thing that when Tiger doesn’t play in a tournament many people (including myself) will not watch a second of their coverage? Some say yes, others no. This principle can be applied to anything that completely dominates their field.
Thoughts?
