Yes. And if the promotion possibilities are limited, every competitor you knock out, increases the chance for you to be promoted. On the c-level it's more about

Yes. And if the promotion possibilities are limited, every competitor you knock out, increases the chance for you to be promoted. On the c-level it's more about budgets, reorgs and getting ownership over more topics (power) - every competitor you make look bad will not get more budget, will not get new responsibilites, will not get the new department. Many people at the top of large organizations got there by knocking out many others, the most political are able to rise to the top over time. Luckily I came into c-level positions by startup growth, byouts and acquisitions, not by going through the ranks.