I have been up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn’t know how to get along without it

Although tough competition never feels good for you at the time, it is the one and only reason for the race to exist!
An arena with one athlete  draws no crowds, no cheers, nor any sense of achievement.

People need competition in order to win, to improve and to rejoice.

An artist must always consider their audience, even though they care little about the consequence.
Businesses equally have an audience, as the stakeholders of whatever nature, require more from their stake.

For Walt, the stakeholders were not just the shareholders, investors and lenders, but the adoring fans (the customers) that his products would serve.  They were the most important stakeholders.

Competitors?  Perhaps his biggest was himself.  He was never happy with ‘just good enough’ and pushed himself hard, as perhaps the Studio’s biggest critic and competitor.
Walt’s real competitors had a tough task however, as Walt lead the Disney Studios as a figurehead, a name, a person, a man of integrity.

The competition was much less defined and no doubt envied the man that made his own decisions.

Any organisation that can adapt, change, develop and create, all without a complex hierarchy, is always destined to make the very best of a competitive arena!