Competition

Here we go again! An article about Lean in machine shops today leads off with “In an increasingly competitive marketplace…,” I just could not read further. Has anyone ever met a market that was not “increasingly competitive”? I don’t believe that one ever existed 100 years ago, today, or will 100 years from now. Given that all markets always are “increasingly competitive,” stating it  just wastes readers’ time, for which there is ever increasing competition…