Judo Strategy
Business Strategy Review, 2002, Volume 13 Issue 1, pp 20-30
Judo Strategy: 10 Techniques for Beating a Stronger Opponent
David B Yoffie and Mary Kwak
The idea of judo economics, building on analogies with the sport of judo, has been around for at least 20 years. But taking these ideas further to judo strategy means that a framework of strategic principles can be developed to help companies put stronger opponents on the mat.
Why do some companies succeed in defeating stronger rivals, while others fail? This is a question that all ambitious businesses eventually face. Whether you’re a start-up taking on industry giants or a giant moving into markets dominated by powerful incumbents, the basic problem remains the same: how do you compete with opponents who have size, strength, and history on their side?
The answer lies in a simple but powerful lesson: successful challengers use what we call “judo” strategy to prevent opponents from bringing their full strength into play. Judo strategists avoid forms of competition, such as head-to-head struggles, that naturally favour the large and the strong. Instead, they rely on speed, agility, and creative thinking in crafting strategies that make it difficult for powerful rivals to compete.
This is not, of course, an entirely new idea. It has long been recognised, for example, that by first securing a foothold in an undefended market, a company can
Business
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improve its chances of ultimate success. (In fact, Peter
Drucker has labelled this process “entrepreneurial judo”.)
We have taken this thinking on unequal competition further. First, rather than focus on a single insight, such as the importance of niche picking, we provide an overarching framework that ties together a wealth of strategic ideas.
Second, we offer numerous examples of how companies have put these ideas to work, based on our interviews with executives at a broad range of companies – both old and new economy, large and
Judo Strategy: 10 Techniques for Beating a Stronger Opponent
David B Yoffie and Mary Kwak
The idea of judo economics, building on analogies with the sport of judo, has been around for at least 20 years. But taking these ideas further to judo strategy means that a framework of strategic principles can be developed to help companies put stronger opponents on the mat.
Why do some companies succeed in defeating stronger rivals, while others fail? This is a question that all ambitious businesses eventually face. Whether you’re a start-up taking on industry giants or a giant moving into markets dominated by powerful incumbents, the basic problem remains the same: how do you compete with opponents who have size, strength, and history on their side?
The answer lies in a simple but powerful lesson: successful challengers use what we call “judo” strategy to prevent opponents from bringing their full strength into play. Judo strategists avoid forms of competition, such as head-to-head struggles, that naturally favour the large and the strong. Instead, they rely on speed, agility, and creative thinking in crafting strategies that make it difficult for powerful rivals to compete.
This is not, of course, an entirely new idea. It has long been recognised, for example, that by first securing a foothold in an undefended market, a company can
Business
© LondonStrategy
BusinessReview
School
improve its chances of ultimate success. (In fact, Peter
Drucker has labelled this process “entrepreneurial judo”.)
We have taken this thinking on unequal competition further. First, rather than focus on a single insight, such as the importance of niche picking, we provide an overarching framework that ties together a wealth of strategic ideas.
Second, we offer numerous examples of how companies have put these ideas to work, based on our interviews with executives at a broad range of companies – both old and new economy, large and