The first casualty of modern competition is rarely profit. It is perception. By the time an organisation begins defending the truth, the market has often stopped waiting for it. 

Businesses have always competed for market share. Increasingly, they compete for something far more valuable: the market's interpretation of reality. Once that interpretation hardens, facts become expensive to recover. 

Most companies believe they are competing for customers. Increasingly, they are competing for the right to define reality before their competitors do. Once the market accepts a false premise, even the better product begins the race behind. 

Competitive advantage rarely disappears overnight. It is first questioned, then discounted, then quietly replaced by a narrative that should never have been believed in the first place. By the time the facts arrive, the market has often already reached its verdict.