Watching the Florida State football team lose to Oregon on New Year’s Day was not shocking nor disappointing, given the impressive performance of the Ducks. What was disheartening was the poor sportsmanship displayed by both teams; many of the Seminoles headed to the locker room instead of shaking hands with the victors, and several Oregon team members openly mocked Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston and the accusation of sexual assault that has followed him for the past year.

Situations such as these are unfortunate and avoidable, requiring only that the teams and their leaders make different choices. We each have this choice every day, as we can elect to compete with pride instead of engaging in practices that undermine the integrity of our industry. This includes…

…sharing value versus making negative statements about competitors.

…focusing conversations on ROI instead of attempting to compete on price.

…making commitments that can be met or exceeded instead of over-promising and under-delivering.

As we begin the year, my hope is that firms across the globe will rally to land more market share while winning more of the hearts and minds of buyers. As long as we engage in professional sportsmanship, there’s no valid reason why the vast majority of decision-makers can’t be raving fans of the value, flexibility, and responsiveness delivered by staffing and recruitment services.