Reading the comment thread that arose from your comment reminded me, and maybe you'll appreciate this... I like to view competition as a form of collaboration,

Reading the comment thread that arose from your comment reminded me, and maybe you'll appreciate this... I like to view competition as a form of collaboration, for example: When companies compete, they compete in a collaboration we call the market. When sports teams compete, whether as groups or individuals, they compete in a collaboration we call the game, or even a tournament. When the other side is beating you, you might look at their strengths and weaknesses, their knowledge and ability, and work out if there's anything you can learn, how to adapt your behaviour to strengthen your position. Employees, or players, can move from one company to another, through hiring or acquisitions, bringing skills and experience with them. Here we have companies competing for employees, and then those employees collaborating anew. Or a company might license certain IP from another, this is a form of collaboration too. In this sense, collaboration and competition aren't necessarily opposing paradigms, they can be tools to apply to the situation.