Selective Competitor Learning Loop
Compete fiercely, copy strengths, and refuse to inherit weaknesses
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 91%
Jeremy Zimmer describes sustained competition as a source of both intensity and selective learning. The mechanism begins with a capable rival: repeated exposure teaches you to become fiercer, while close observation reveals behaviours worth adopting and behaviours worth rejecting. The crucial filter is selectivity. Instead of copying a competitor wholesale, isolate what they do well and emulate only those strengths that improve your own performance. At the same time, recognise what they may not do well and resist importing those habits. The output is a sharper competitive posture and a better operating playbook, built from observed evidence rather than admiration, resentment, or reflexive opposition.
Origin
Zimmer explains the lesson through his decades-long competition with Ari Emanuel: rivalry taught him fierceness while giving him a close view of which behaviours to emulate and which to ignore.
Core principles
- 01Strong competitors can sharpen your own performance.
- 02Copy demonstrated strengths rather than entire playbooks.
- 03Notice weaknesses without allowing them to shape your behaviour.
How to run it
- 1
Choose the relevant rival
Focus on a competitor whose repeated actions give you enough evidence to learn from. Treat the rivalry as a source of information as well as motivation.
Pro tip Prefer a long-running direct competitor over a fashionable company you observe only from a distance.
- 2
Separate strengths from weaknesses
Observe what the rival does well and what they may not be doing well. Make the distinction explicitly so admiration does not turn into wholesale imitation.
Pro tip Anchor each judgement in repeated behaviour rather than one visible win or loss.
Watch out Do not assume every practice belongs on the same side of the ledger.
- 3
Emulate selectively
Adopt the useful strengths that fit your own organisation, while deliberately ignoring the rival's weaker practices. Let the contest raise your fierceness without surrendering your judgement.
Watch out Copying an entire rival also imports the parts that do not work.
In the wild
Asked about competing with Ari Emanuel for decades, Zimmer says the experience teaches fierceness. He also describes watching what a competitor does well and emulating it, while noticing what may not be done well and trying to ignore it.
→ The rivalry becomes a source of competitive intensity and selective operating lessons.
Common mistakes
Copying the whole competitor
Wholesale imitation fails to separate useful strengths from practices the rival may not execute well.
Ignoring a strong rival completely
Refusing to observe a capable competitor discards evidence that could improve your own playbook.
Is it for you?
Best for
Leaders competing repeatedly against a capable rival in the same market.
Not ideal for
Teams without enough direct evidence to distinguish a rival's real strengths from surface appearances.
From the transcript
“What you learn is you learn to be fierce.”
“And the other thing is you'll see what they do well, and you'll emulate and you'll see what they might not be doing well, and…”
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