Last night I was honored to have a seat at the NFTE Movie Premiere of Ten9Eight Shoot For the Moon. I went there to support entrepreneurial teens (aspiring and emerging), the groovy folks that I work with in the DC office and all of the teens I have had the privilege to personally work with that were featured in the movie.

The movie follows the journey of teens from low income neighborhoods enrolled in the NFTE Program at their public high school who are competing to win a chance to the National Business Plan Competition (NYC) and a $10,000 Grand Prize.

I get it and I got it, this whole concept of ‘competing’ for the prize, prestige, recognition. The fame, the fortune, the glory. Yeah, I got it. :) And I would totally recommend any teen out there who has been thinking of starting a business go and watch the movie (in select AMC theatres for a limited time). The movie is a huge step in bringing forth greater awareness of the public about teens and entrepreneurship.

But I have to tell you. This morning, I reflected back on the movie and the one thing I found myself thinking about over and over again were the tens of thousands of teens who didn’t win the competition or even advance beyond their in classroom competition. What happened to them?

A true Renegade CEO challenges not the limits of society but the limits of oneself.

This is like the all encompassing theme in the World of the Renegade CEO’s. There is no such thing as having competition, other than yourself. The corporation you bad mouth today could be the same one merging with or buying your company tomorrow. And what will your client think if you talked about their crappy, inferior product and how they treat their customers so poorly. While you may be smaller, more streamlined and efficient in some respects and maybe even an early adopter in terms of technology, better is relative. You are not better than anybody. You are different…but you are also the same.  You both have to market to seek clients, earn money to sustain and grow your business, pay taxes. And for many small businesses, becoming a ‘bigger company’ with millions in annual revenues and customers all over the world is usually a measure of success.

So I leave you with this- in our current economy where resources are strapped, it is important that you come from a place of collaboration vs. competition.

1. Be open to AND with ideas and continual feedback in regards to both your clients and other organizations (smaller and larger than you) in your industry.

2. Embrace the world. When you are online you are connected globally. So have awareness, respect and sensitivity for others outside of your ‘immediate’ community.

3. Look for innovative ways to partner with others who offer complimentary products/services to you.

4. Always work for the best needs of your customer first. When your customer is at the forefront, you will learn to look beyond differences (of other companies who offer similar products/services) and instead serve as a resource for your industry to better educate and support your clients.

5. Make Trust the Norm. Trust Everyone Unless They Personally Give You a Reason Not To. It is so easy to build new relationships and get caught up on the shortcomings and drama from old relationships that didn’t work out. If someone engages in a relationship with you in which they are asking for things that are not ethically or morally right then you obviously know that you cannot trust them. Otherwise, understand that in collaborative relationships, trust is the norm. And when it is the norm, not the exception that people do things with you out of the kindness of their heart without any immediate expectation of repayment.

And big thanks to my trusted mastermind partners, Marianne St. Clair, Greg Balanko-Dickson, Danielle Herb, Mena Gagne and Patricio Quezada who have taught me and reaffirmed the importance of creative, communal collaboration. It works!

@teenbizcoach