Competing against incumbents, and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
Competing against long-standing incumbents that have oligopolistically dominated the market for a long time is a daunting task. For an innovator and truly serious contender, the core challenge of winning market share at the expense of complacent incumbents is to help their customers escape from Plato’s allegorical Cave, where the incumbents have been keeping them content with shadow plays for a long time.
This article has been expanded into a short book, available for purchase on Leanpub, dedicated to all product managers fighting incumbents resting on their laurels for decades: