I see what you're saying and yes, there may be times to react. You can't always be proactive for everything as your competitors are acting indepdently as well. BUT, the problem comes when companies FOCUS on their competitors, letting those competitors set the pace and primarily react to what they are doing. It's a bad pattern to fall into - even if, as you say, it is easier. Sure., it's easier to act, but acting that way, makes it MUCH harder to win.

Some companies view themselves as "fast follower". I think that term is misunderstood quite frankly, and many companies that think they are fast followers, actually are not. They're just companies that lack any real strategy of their own.