Example: You seriously think there are other husbands who are better than me? You really think other wives get anywhere near what I have given you? You are not living in the real world. Have you ever made a decision in the heat of competitive battle only to ask yourself later, “What was I thinking?” If so, you’ve experienced competitive arousal, a desire to beat rivals at any cost. This adrenaline-fueled, emotional state can lead to expensive mistakes in business decisions, including overpaying for acquisitions or managerial talent when other players enter the fray. Spread responsibility for critical decisions across team members, so no one will stand alone in the spotlight. False Compromise: Offering to meet half way on matters in which there is clearly a fair and unfair choice. It also highlights why any sport on which a betting market exists needs to be able to provide its athletes with a reasonable wage. Yes, the refusal of Football Australia to pay the Matildas a fair wage is sexist and unkind, but it also makes Australian football vulnerable to corruption. If it’s possible to make as much money by giving away a penalty in “one stupid match” as you make in a year, it becomes much easier to say yes.

It’s pretty clear how a win at all costs mentality informed the Essendon decision. Ironically, Essendon’s 2013 motto was “whatever it takes”, which they had apparently taken very literally the previous year. We shouldn’t be surprised to see this mentality in professional sport – a world where being a “winner” or “loser” is more than a metaphor, it’s reality.

Be willing to step away from the bargaining table if you can’t control your competitive fire in an intense rivalry. Put someone else in charge of the negotiation who’s less emotionally invested and who can act as a devil’s advocate regarding the worth of the deal. Approximately 2.1 million Presidential votes were cast in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and accounts for most of the state’s population. In recent years, younger voters and people of color have turned the county’s electorate increasingly Democratic—a shift that helped Biden win the traditionally conservative state, by 10,457 votes. Since the election, the county has become a focus of ire for Trump and his supporters. By March, when Logan’s company was hired, the county had already undergone four election audits, all of which upheld the outcome. Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican and a former Trump ally, had certified Biden’s victory. But Trump’s core supporters were not assuaged. Arizona’s secretary of state, Katie Hobbs, whose office has authority over the administration of elections, told me that the conspiracy-driven audit “looks so comical you have to laugh at it sometimes.” But Hobbs, a Democrat, who is running for governor, warned, “It’s dangerous. It’s feeding the kind of misinformation that led to the January 6th insurrection.” QAnon followers have been celebrating the audit as the beginning of a “Great Awakening” that will eject Biden from the White House. She noted, “I’ve gotten death threats. I’ve had armed protestors outside my house. Every day, there is a total barrage of social media to our office. We’ve had to route our phones to voice mail so that no one has to listen to it. It can be really traumatizing. I feel beaten up.” She added, “But I’m not going to cave to their tactics—because I think they’re laying the groundwork to steal the 2024 elections.” Shroyer J, Stewart C. Knowledge of concussions by high school coaches in a rural environment. Physical Educator. 2016;73(2):373. Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations—Chief Minister TaEDD. Work Health and Safety Act 2011. Government Act; 2018.

So says Dr. Gabi Eissa, management professor at the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University, who's recently published his research in Human Resources Management Journal. Eissa found that employees with Machiavellian personalities (defined as those who prioritize their personal goals above all else) tend be successful in these environments even if it means sabotaging the work of their colleagues. "Employees with Machiavellian personalities tend to not trust others; show a willingness to engage in amoral behavior; and exhibit a desire to maintain interpersonal control," noted Eissa. "They tend to believe that a coworker's success is risky, so they become motivated to see others lose. Often times, they feel that when co-workers lose, they win." Onyeaso CO, Adegbesan OA. Knowledge and attitudes of coaches of secondary school athletes in Ibadan, Nigeria regarding oro-facial injuries and mouthguard use by the athletes. Dent Traumatol. 2003;19(4):204–8. Narcissists often use this tactic when they dont understand what another person is saying. Rather than admit they are confused, they pretend that what the other person is saying is beyond belief. This is an attempt to dismiss valid concerns. Five months later, Turning Point Action, a “social welfare organization” run by Kirk’s group, was one of nearly a dozen groups behind Trump’s “March to Save America,” on January 6th. Shortly before the rally, Kirk tweeted that the groups he leads would send “80+ buses full of patriots to DC to fight for this president.” His tweet was deleted after the crowds assaulted the Capitol.

at all costs

Kellmann, M., Altfeld, S., & Mallett, C. J. (2016). Recovery–stress imbalance in Australian Football League coaches: A pilot longitudinal study. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 14(3), 240-249. Therkorn JH, Shendell DG. Evaluation and characterization of environmental risks and asthma management knowledge and awareness through surveys of coaches, athlete parents/guardians, and athletes. J Asthma Allergy Educ. 2012;3(3):106–16.

Norcross MF, Johnson ST, Bovbjerg VE, Koester MC, Hoffman MA. Factors influencing high school coaches’ adoption of injury prevention programs. J Sci Med Sport. 2016;19(4):299–304. On an individual level it highlights the practical danger in turning professional athletes into “winners”. Not only does a “win at all cost” mentality have on-field consequences – as the Essendon case reveals – but it undermines public trust in sport and athletes altogether. At Condor Performance, we encourage those we work with to push this obsession with winning towards their preparation and their processes. Why? Muwonge H, Zavuga R, Kabenge PA. Doping knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Ugandan athletes’: a cross-sectional study. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2015;22:10. Narcissists rarely meet a compliment they dont like. They think others are as susceptible to flattery as they are. They ply listeners with pseudo-compliments, hoping to get things in return.On behalf of Republican candidates and groups, she began to fight limits on campaign spending. She also represented numerous right-wing nonprofits, including the National Rifle Association, whose board she joined in the early two-thousands. A former N.R.A. official recently told the Guardian that Mitchell was the “fringe of the fringe,” and a Republican voting-rights lawyer said that “she tells clients what they want to hear, regardless of the law or reality.”