Andrew is right, competition is the lubrication that keeps our economy and industries moving forward. If you remove this lubrication, the system will seize up and become stagnant. Do competitive practices in the business world preclude graciously professional behaviour? In my mind absolutely not. A few years ago I had the opportunity to listen to FIRST Chairman John Abele give a speech to a group of corporate executives on the topic of competitive business practices. John said: (I'm paraphrasing this from memory) "There are two ways to compete in this world, you can drag your competitors down, or you can rise above them. Which is better for the world in the long run?". It is this attitude that I carry with me in my dealings in the work world. I am always going to be a ferocious competitor, but that doesn't mean I'm going to behave in shady or underhanded manners. I make it my mission to always aim to rise above competitors as opposed to partaking in acts that are not gracious or professional in an effort to drag my competitors down. It may sound trite, but I know that at the end of the day I sleep better knowing that I've maintained my integrity.
In my mind John Abele is the best role model we have in FIRST. He has proven that being
successful in the ultra-competive business world and being a gracious professional are not mutually exclusive. If we each took a page out of his book, we could go a long way in making the world a more palatable, yet a still progressive and productive place.