Apple’s Steve Jobs’ decision last week to pick out his competitors specifically was a surprising move. There seemed to be a strong element of “I’ve had enough and I’m not going to take it anymore!” to his news conference, which is understandable. Perhaps for the first time since the Newton, an Apple product was losing in the court of public opinion. Whether the iPhone 4’s antenna issues are widespread or not, public perception was/is that the device was/is faulty.

He did the right thing to confront the issue. It’s questionable, though, that citing competitors by name made sense. It’s a reasonable strategy to spread – or not own – the bad news, but that should only occur in a general way – that is, not calling out the competitors by name.

When you’re #1 – real or perceived – you should carry yourself as such. That means not comparing your product or company with the competition. That’s what the competition wants, and, following the Jobs news conference, that’s what they got and that’s what has now become the story. Apple’s competitors are now part of a dialogue with the perceived leader. Their products are being compared directly with Apple’s, even if it’s under possibly negative scrutiny.

Jobs acknowledging the problem was good; but his added frustration that the issue “has been blown so out of proportion that it’s incredible” was another communications misstep. Acknowledge the problem, fix the problem, move on.

Carrying yourself like a leader means not inviting comparisons. That means excluding the competition from the conversation, or at least not inviting – never mind guaranteeing – their inclusion.

Whether or not Apple is in fact #1 is not the point. Also-rans welcome comparisons with leaders; leaders should strive to stand apart.