In my 24 years as CEO, I have learned one big thing.

All competitive advantages – price, quality, even technology – are commoditized over a long-enough time horizon.

The only way to have a sustainable competitive advantage is people.

Phil Shawe, co-CEO of TransPerfect, at GlobalLink Next 2016 in San Francisco. (Came across it while thinking through a piece on the translation industry, private equity, and Labor Day over at my political blog.)