A bright red pawn stands in sharp focus in the foreground, while several beige pawns are blurred in the background. Diagonal translucent gold and purple shapes overlay the right side of the image.

From inspiration to achievement

Harnessing the power of self-oriented competition

Inspiration drives achievement, but what truly sets top performers apart is their ability to compete with themselves. Instead of focusing on being better than others, they strive to surpass their own best. This self-oriented drive fuels goal-setting, resilience, and long-term success.

Dr. Wyatt Schrock , Associate Professor of Marketing, Michigan State University, Broad College of Business William Johnson , Division Vice President, Sales and Channel More about the authors

Watch this webinar to hear from BI WORLDWIDE’s William Johnson, Vice President of Sales and Channel, and Michigan State University’s Dr. Wyatt Schrock, Associate Professor, as they discuss the link between inspiration, goal-setting, and the science of self-oriented competition. You’ll learn how this powerful mindset shapes top achievers and how the right incentive structure can help organizations drive measurable performance.

Key takeaways:

Why inspired people are relentless goal-setters and achievers
The difference between self-oriented and other-oriented competitiveness
How self-competition fuels performance
How incentive structures harness self-oriented competition to maximize engagement and outcomes
Practical ways leaders can apply self-oriented competitive insights to hiring, motivating, and team success

Dr. Wyatt Schrock

Associate Professor of Marketing, Michigan State University, Broad College of Business

Wyatt Schrock is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University. He was previously an Assistant Professor of Marketing at West Virginia University. Dr. Schrock holds a Ph.D. in Marketing from Michigan State University. He also holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Miami and a B.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Schrock’s research interests include salesperson motivation, sales manager leadership, and brand management. His research has been published in the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Marketing Letters, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Service Research, Industrial Marketing Management, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He has presented his research at several academic conferences in the U.S. and abroad. He currently serves on the Editorial Review Boards at the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management and the Journal of Business Research. Dr. Schrock’s research has twice received the annual James M. Comer Award for “Best Contribution to Selling and Sales Management Theory.” He has also co-authored an academic textbook, Professional Selling (Sage 2023 / Chicago Business Press 2020).

Dr. Schrock also has ten years of corporate experience in a variety of sales, marketing, and analyst roles. He has worked for companies such as Procter & Gamble and Gannett. At Michigan State University, Dr. Schrock teaches Sales Management (Marketing 383) and has won numerous teaching awards. These awards include the John D. and Dortha J. Withrow Distinguished Teaching Award (an annual award at the Eli Broad College of Business for teaching excellence and innovation) and the Eli Broad College’s Faculty Appreciation Award (an annual award for the faculty member who made the most positive impact on the graduating senior class).

William Johnson

Division Vice President, Sales and Channel

As Vice President of BI WORLDWIDE’s Sales & Channel Engagement Group, William Johnson’s primary focus is to develop sales and channel engagement strategies and solutions that change the behaviors of sales people, distributors, dealers and channel sales representatives. An expert in sales incentive strategy, he educates sales professionals around the world on how to best engage their sales force through sales engagement strategies, solutions and best practices.

Share this resource

Related research

View all thought leadership

Three yellow paper airplanes fly on a blue background alongside the text: Designing a successful contest doesn’t have to be hard.

Article

Overcoming obstacles to contest design

Picture this scenario: you’re in a meeting and sales are down. As you brainstorm ideas with your team, you suggest running a sales contest to close out the quarter strong. Your boss thinks it’s a genius idea and tasks you with designing a program to launch next week.

A variety of colorful gift cards are scattered across a wooden surface. The cards are in shades of green, blue, orange, and yellow, each with the text Gift Card written on its surface.

Article

Points versus gift cards

The New Rules of Engagement® research shows employees who feel their organization’s incentives are exciting are eight times more likely to be inspired at work. But not all rewards drive behavior change and results.

A small, square gift box wrapped in light blue paper sits in a corner against a blue background. It is adorned with a glossy white ribbon tied in a bow on top.

Article

The trouble with money

If you ask anyone, they’ll say cash is more appealing. But based on years of research and practical application, we know inspiration is more powerful than money when it comes to changing behavior.