"The Way Of The Sage Is To Work Without Cunning"

Laozi (6th–5th century BCE), the founder of philosophical Taoism, touched on the subject of 争 (closest translation: competition, contention) in a few places in his main work Tao Te Ching about how "the Way" (Tao) of the sage would behave when confronting competitions. The one I like the most is the following (in Chinese):

天之道，利而不害。

圣人之道，为而不争。

The closest translation I can find, without losing the core of its meanings, is the following:

The Tao of the Universe Blesses, but does not harm.

The Way of the Sage Accomplishes, but does not contend.

My interpretation is that Laozi believes a good person does not contend. A good person only competes with himself or herself to keep getting better. A person gets credit when credit is due. This is also applicable to a team, a company, and a nation. A company should focus on making its own products and services better rather than using any other tricks to gain competitive advantages.