Is it possible to have a strategy based on not coming out on top? Does losing sometimes have its benefits?
In the case of a clearly rigged bid where one particular bidder seems to be favored, a spoiler may join anyway knowing it has no chance of winning. Maybe, he just wants the winner to pay more for a desired acquisition which the loser is only too willing to forfeit. Aren’t auctions premised on having more than one participant to bid up the price?
Winning can turn into a “pyrrhic victory.” The phrase comes from King Pyrrhus who lost soldiers and allies in his victory over Rome with the cost of the battle so high that it was indistinguishable from defeat. He famously said, “Another victory like this would undo me.” A winning bid that is too costly can turn into a winner’s curse.
Bids for hosting certain international events like beauty contests or the Olympics are given to the highest bidder. Such costs however are not always covered by sponsorships and TV rights. The winning bidder may resort to debts to deliver the spectacle he is hosting. This was the case of Athens Olympics in 2004. The infrastructure spending on venues, transport, and roads, along with additional security was the start of the Greek default and the narrowly avoided “Grexit.” This winner’s curse of bankruptcy also struck Brazil after hosting the 2016 Olympics. These events do not always result in a positive image for the country.
Only later events determine whether the desired prize delivers on its promised benefits. As philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard puts it — “life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards.”
Thus, winning or losing cannot be ascertained at the point the decision is revealed but only afterwards when its ramifications and unforeseen costs unfold. So, there is no need to shed tears when getting the bad news that one did not get the prize. The sour grapes may indeed end up with the winner.
The famous gift of a “white elephant” was supposed to symbolize a Thai king’s high regard in ancient times. However, the care and feeding of the beast was so prohibitive that the beneficiary ended up financially ruined. So, was this symbol of royal high esteem a reward or punishment?
Failing to win best picture in a film competition doesn’t require a public concession speech, just a quiet departure from the scene, as the media mobs the winner. At the Oscar Awards in 2017, the mistaken announcement of the winner forced a correction, with the mistaken winner needing to pass the trophy already at hand (with one speech already delivered) to the actual winner and hurriedly flee the stage.
The benefits of losing have seldom been studied. Why should they be? The focus and attention on winners make the loser a sideshow undeserving of attention. The grudging compliment of being a good loser hardly serves as a compliment.
Losing is not always the negative thing that it is perceived to be. Sometimes, it’s even the goal set by those who need to shed unwanted baggage, whether it is the cost of the prize, or the unwanted spotlight.
In the reality show featuring obesity as a qualification to join, the one who sheds the most weight from a starting weigh-in is declared “the biggest loser,” also the show’s title, in a charming bit of word play.
The “before” and “after” physique (with the latter usually also better dressed and more confident) becomes the poster for determination and willpower. This show had a local version which first featured as host somebody who needed to join the contestants.
Still, only in the context of a contest, except the one on slimming down, is losing objectionable. So if one sees life as a series of contests, then indeed, there are only winners and losers, and those who watch from the sidelines.
In the 1972 movie, The Candidate, a no-hope contestant goes against a sure-win opponent for Governor of California. In a strange twist of fate, after a debate that turns the race around, the expected loser (Robert Redford) manages to win. In the famous last line, he asks his handler — “What do we do now?”
Sometimes, it is not losing that’s the worst case scenario. In certain endeavors like art auctions, bids for hosting international events, and acquisitions of companies and second-hand cars, the problems start after the winner is announced… as the grateful loser breathes a sigh of relief.
A. R. Samson is chair and CEO of Touch DDB.
