Competition brings out the best in

products and worst in people

In 2011, a survey by PwC asked over 1200 industry leaders

about their thoughts and opinions on the concept of
innovation. Out of those over a thousand CEOs, 80% believed
innovation drives efficiencies and leads to a competitive
advantage.
(The survey itself: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-survey/pdf/14th-
annual-global-ceo-survey.pdf)

However, while the competition to innovate can truly be

the reason for why our everyday lives are made easier, at the
very same time it can truly be responsible for some of the
most underhanded tactics used. Case and point: Robert
Fortune.
Commissioned by the Horticultural Society of London to
undertake a three-year plant collection expedition to
southern China, Fortune’s mission had less to do with the
exploration of the wide world of tea and more to do with the
British empire wanting to strike down China’s then monopoly
on different types of the warm drink.
On behalf of the British East India Company, Fortune
disguised himself as a Chinese merchant during several, but
not all, of his journeys beyond the newly established treaty
port areas. Not only was Fortune's purchase of tea plants
reportedly forbidden by the Chinese government of the time,
but his travels were also beyond the allowable day's journey
from the European treaty ports.
While he admittedly left a massive mark on British history
(to the point their tea drinking has become a national
stereotype) his methods of doing so truly leave just as big of a
mark on his, and his employees’ actions.