Rivalries can be a powerful motivator.
Take sports, for example.
Without Larry Bird to compete with, Magic Johnson wouldn't have achieved all that he did.
Or politics, where the Democrats and Republicans play off one another and use the other side to push their people to go out and vote.
Then there's food, where Burger King has made a habit of trolling McDonald's with clever marketing to fire up its sales.
Back to sports (kind of ...) with wrestling.
WWE (then WWF) was at its most creative when it had to fight WCW in the "Monday Night Wars", and although I haven't watched wrestling for years, I've heard that it stinks pretty bad now (but is starting to be pushed by AEW, which could give it new energy to pick up its game)
When you don't have someone or something pushing you, it's easy to get lazy.
Rivalries can work in the online space too - for motivation, but also to drive a lot of attention over to you.
People in the coaching world will say "there's no such thing as competition", but don't discount the advantages with having rivals.
Anyways, we're just one day away from the deadline to get the November issue of Secret Coach Club, and you can secure your copy by going here before tomorrow night:
Marc Mawhinney