[b0ttler0cket]

I have to disagree.

I don't like to think of this as a necessary evil. Given the OP's philosophy, I definitely don't think it's appropriate to describe what he should do as an "evil."

It can be done differently. He's not questioning the fact that there's "only a limited number of businesses [that] can exist in any one market." Jh understands that the world is finite. What he doesn't understand is that this concept of "hurting" someone is not real. It's not sports, where the aim is to defeat the opponent (yes that is the aim of sports...I know what I'm talking about there). This is business. If there's too much in one place, go somewhere else. Jh's problem is that he can't go anywhere else. He's stuck in the middle of nowhere because every decision is blocked by an internal rule he has written.

There is no necessary "evil" here, there's just necessary. You have to abandon your train of thought. :) That is, if you want the solution to your dilemma. :)

[bmelton]

From the guidelines: "Please don't sign comments, especially with your url. They're already signed with your username. If other users want to learn more about you, they can click on it to see your profile."

Could you, pretty please, stop prefacing all your posts with your username? It ends up appearing directly below your username, and is kind of distracting.

[b0ttler0cket]

Oops. Sorry. :)