We don’t like it when someone else wants to eat our lunch, but without them, we wouldn’t be very good.
“He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. our antagonist is our helper.” – Edmund Burke
“If there be no enemy there’s no fight. If no fight, no victory, and if no victory there is no crown.” – Thomas Carlyle
“Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes.” – Antisthene
Did you pick those names for their rhyming or was that just poetic fortune?
After you have done this for awhile, there is some satisfaction in reflection regarding what you have learned from your competitors (particularly as you scale in your territory and they stay the same or get smaller) The same can be said for learning from people who have left you and your business – whether voluntarily or not!