Being creative takes a lot of effort. And nobody really puts in that sort of effort unless they have to. So competition is a natural way to spur people on when they feel like stopping at the mediocre point that they've reached.

Competition is also fun and gets the creative juices going. Charles Saatchi said it's not enough to win. Someone else has to be seen to be losing. This may sound a bit Eighties, but it's worth remembering what made his advertising agency successful.

The other thing about competition is that the more open and rule-driven competition there is, the less politics you find. And nothing kills creativity faster than politics.