Off topic: Are you afraid of competition? Thread poster: Alexandre Chetrite
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Hello,
I don't know how you say it in English, but in French there is an expression that says: "Le malheur des uns fait le bonheur des autres" (I will try to paraphrase it in English: "When one loses, the other wins" or the other way around "When one wins, the other loses".
What is your opinion about this expression? Do you really believe that when you win it means that somebody else is getting unhappy and loses money because of you?Is there a cause/consequence effect?<... See more Hello,
I don't know how you say it in English, but in French there is an expression that says: "Le malheur des uns fait le bonheur des autres" (I will try to paraphrase it in English: "When one loses, the other wins" or the other way around "When one wins, the other loses".
What is your opinion about this expression? Do you really believe that when you win it means that somebody else is getting unhappy and loses money because of you?Is there a cause/consequence effect?
[Edited at 2011-05-02 18:16 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Of course not | May 2, 2011 |
We live in a universe of abundance. I am happy when I see other people prosper. I also know many translators (and generally people) with whom I can share my experience, who I can ask for help or provide help when they need it. Solidarity for me is the crucial life principle, the more you give (especially without expecting anything in return) the more you gain. Never be in fear, the state of fear is blocking, closing, limiting, while the state of loving and giving opens, inspires, elevates and en... See more We live in a universe of abundance. I am happy when I see other people prosper. I also know many translators (and generally people) with whom I can share my experience, who I can ask for help or provide help when they need it. Solidarity for me is the crucial life principle, the more you give (especially without expecting anything in return) the more you gain. Never be in fear, the state of fear is blocking, closing, limiting, while the state of loving and giving opens, inspires, elevates and enriches.
Best regards to France, Dijana ) ▲ Collapse
| | | | | In terms of a Job, Yes. | May 2, 2011 |
Well, if I am competing with someone else for a particular job, then yes, when one of us wins the other loses. There is only one job to be had.
In general terms, however, I would not want to be so competitive that I didn't share with other translators or interpreters. And I'm glad to say that many interpreters and translators have been very generous with their time and advice with me.
| | | | Henry Hinds 
United States
Local time: 02:55
English to Spanish
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In memoriam
We have a saying in the US, win-win. That means everyone wins, we all come out ahead. Therefore the sucess of one should not be at the expense of another. Everything works out better with a win-win situation.
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Ashley Wans
United States
Local time: 01:55
Spanish to English
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Dijana Zoric wrote:
Solidarity for me is the crucial life principle, the more you give (especially without expecting anything in return) the more you gain. Never be in fear, the state of fear is blocking, closing, limiting, while the state of loving and giving opens, inspires, elevates and enriches.
I've noticed that the more thought and effort I put into my interactions with others in the field (like my editors, for example, or translators when I am acting as an editor), the more openly and respectfully they deal with me, which often results in me actually learning something new! So I definitely agree with Dijana's advice to never be in fear of others.
Fortunately, in my langauge pairs, there is a lot of work out there, so even when I am competing for jobs, if I don't get this one, another one will spring up soon enough. I'm not sure if that is the case for all language pairs or not.
| | | | Arianne Farah
Canada
Local time: 04:55
Member (2008)
English to French
| Well in English there's also | May 3, 2011 |
"One's trash is another's treasure" which is in the same vein... kind of like those penny projects everyone complains about in the job postings
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Alexandre Chetrite wrote:
What is your opinion about this expression? Do you really believe that when you win it means that somebody else is getting unhappy and loses money because of you?Is there a cause/consequence effect?
We are businesspeople, and as such we cannot be thinking about these things. We have to strive to excel in our work and receive many jobs as a result.
The profession can only progress if we all compete intensely with each other! Fierce competition (which can also be a friendly, cooperative, sharing competition as proven here in Proz.com and in so many other places) keeps bad performers out of the game and promotes a healthy industry.
| | | | | to some extent | May 3, 2011 |
I'm not afraid that another professional translator will come and take my job - there is quite a lot of work and the market is growing quickly.
On the other hand I am a bit worried about the share of the market which may be potentially taken by who offer "alternative services" like cheap low quality translation or automatic translation.
Still in relations between professionals I believe in the win-win rule.
S
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bergazy
Croatia
Local time: 10:55
Croatian to Italian
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| I'm not afraid | May 3, 2011 |
In fact, I like competition and trying to help colleagues when I can. However, true friendships among translators are quite rare.
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 16:55
Chinese to English
| Competition can be bad for quality | May 3, 2011 |
In answer to the topic question - no, I'm not worried about competition. Like Diana, I think there is enough work to go round, and I'm happy to see my direct competitors getting work, because it means that more clients are seeing the value of high-value translation, as opposed to meanly-paid student jobs.
I want to disagree with Tomas, though. Tomas said:
The profession can only progress if we all compete intensely with each other! Fierce competition (which ... See more In answer to the topic question - no, I'm not worried about competition. Like Diana, I think there is enough work to go round, and I'm happy to see my direct competitors getting work, because it means that more clients are seeing the value of high-value translation, as opposed to meanly-paid student jobs.
I want to disagree with Tomas, though. Tomas said:
The profession can only progress if we all compete intensely with each other! Fierce competition (which can also be a friendly, cooperative, sharing competition as proven here in Proz.com and in so many other places) keeps bad performers out of the game and promotes a healthy industry.
I'm afraid I don't think that's right at all. Efficient markets tend to push people to improve quality - that's true. But in order for a market to be efficient, it must be transparent. People must know what they are buying and what they are selling. In our industry, as we frequently lament, a lot of clients do not (often, by necessity, cannot) understand the service we provide, or the quality of that service. Equally, we often don't know what we're selling - because we don't know the use to which a client will put our translation.
Competition can help to determine price levels, but only non-competitive organizations (like the ATA, IOL, etc.) and good professional ethics can maintain quality. ▲ Collapse
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