Gary Keller’s note on "Competitors." Plus, the business cost of public mistakes, and Gary's path to owner independence. ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  
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The Lead®, a newsletter for Market Center Mastermind members from Gary, Jason, and Jay.
The profit you seek is in the revenue you reap
minus the money you manage.
Gary's Notepad
A preview of Gary Keller's handwritten note to Market Center leaders, "Competitors."

Read Gary's letter in PDF, "Competitors." Or click on the preview image above to see his handwritten version.
Why Great Companies Need Rivals
A line graph representing Microsoft's market value from 1995 to 2025, highlighting key moments competitors entered the market and their impact on Microsoft's financial performance. Microsoft’s revenue increased 1,122% from 2000 to 2025, and its market value increased 1,478% over the same period.

  • The Big Idea: To stay relevant, competition forced Microsoft to innovate, improve customer experiences, and operate more efficiently.

  • Our Aha: When a competitor shows up, most leaders ask, "How do I protect us?" The better question is, "What are they forcing me to become?" The best leaders see competition as a challenge to grow.

  • Think of it this way:

    1. What's the value I need to provide today to win BIG?

    2. What's the math I need to accomplish my business and financial goals?

    3. Take action. The most important thing to do is the most important thing to do.
The Profit Cost of Public Opinion
How Public Mistakes Became Business Problems
Company The Blunder The Impact
Bud Light Marketing partnership sparked widespread consumer backlash. Sales fell 25-30% and roughly $27B in market value was lost.
United Airline passenger removal video went viral worldwide. Nearly $1B in market value disappeared within days.
McDonald's Video of CEO eating tiny bite of burger goes viral. McDonald's unintentionally started an industry-wide "authenticity contest."
Uber An Uber tweet ending surge pricing made the public think it was capitalizing on stranded passengers during a taxi protest. #DeleteUber campaign spread across social media. Hundreds of thousands of users deleted accounts.
Peloton Holiday ad became a viral online punchline. About $1.5B in market value was erased.
Blake Brown Founder Blake Lively's public dispute with Justin Baldoni turned into backlash and social media scrutiny. Sales reportedly fell 87% and valuation estimates dropped 85%.

  • The Big Idea: Reputation used to travel at the speed of conversation, but today travels at the speed of a screenshot.

  • Our Aha: Today, business leaders are seen as their own brand. In a heavy social-media world, your reputation can be a source of profit or a liability.

  • Live by these three social media truths:

    1. Be the same person online that you are offline.

    2. Build trust before you build an audience.

    3. Protect your reputation more than you chase attention.
Gary's "Build a Business, Not a Job"
“The 3 Levels of Building an Owner-Independent Business." Level 1: The Startup, “no control, no freedom.” Level 2: The Owner-reliant Company, “control, but no freedom.” Level 3: The Owner-independent Company, “total control, total freedom.” Build the right way. Build for freedom.

  • The Big Idea: Most business owners are afraid that if they don't stay in control, things will go wrong. But if you start out from the beginning to build an owner-independent company, at some point, that's what you'll have.

  • Our Aha: If you start with the end in mind, you'll get there sooner.
What We're Reading
A picture of the book cover of this month's recommended book, "Meditations for Mortals" by Oliver Burkeman

Meditations for Mortals

by Oliver Burkeman

THE LEAD® is an exclusive leadership newsletter brought to you by KW's executive team.


Edition 16 | June 2026
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