Selling Power’s The Challenge of Your Competition provides an interesting back story to a large electronics company and how it was started. I won’t spill the candy on the article, but I thought the closing graphs were insightful (my emphasis):
Everyone learns from the competition. Some people learn how to improve; others learn how to lose gracefully. Some want to be the only kid on the block; others want to be the best kid on the block. If nothing else, your competition will reveal what kind of person you are.
Remember, you cannot hold a person down unless you’re willing to stay down with him. Grow with your competition; allow them to be the absolute best that they can be. And then, be just a little bit better yourself.