As a strategist and value investor, I cringe every time a CEO or CFO says they are pleased by the entrance into their market of a well-heeled competitor, insisting it “validates the market.” In 1981, at the introduction of the IBM PC, Apple had the temerity to run a large ad in the Wall Street Journal: “Welcome, IBM. Seriously.” They did not understand the nature of Power attainment in the takeoff stage: you and your competitor are in a race for relative scale, and there can only be one winner.
