I bet you don’t know who coined the phrase “get your retaliation in first”. I had to look it up, and it turns out to be the great Willie John McBride in 1974 on a Lions rugby tour of South Africa. And like retaliation, I’m starting to think that you need to get your validation in first. It’s all the retaliation you’ll need. Early in the design cycle too, that’s got to be good, right?

This article appeared in the October 2026 Issue of BENCHMARK.