Many ways to win
Many ways to win
November 18, 2023 · 6 minute read
Why do people flock to something? What creates an edge, an advantage, a moat? How do things win, or at least survive, in a highly competitive landscape?
Organisms, people, products, organizations, networks. All are able to overcome competitors and accumulate energy by developing strengths along certain vectors.
Successful things tend to optimize competency on a narrow set of strategies, often a unique and unusual combination of strategies. Here are eighty such strategies, grouped in broad categories, with examples from biology and business.
Accumulation
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | Usership | A critical mass of users, network effect | Phone system, the internet, scaled social networks | | Completeness | All-in-one tool, one-stop shop | Swiss army knife, Walmart | | Aggregation | An environment or marketplace designed for broad participation | Cities, malls, Amazon, Craigslist | | Diversification | Low-dependency on any one stream of resources | Conglomerates, omnivores | | Omnipresence | Available everywhere it might be needed, accepted by default | Visa, Coca-Cola, dandelions | | Cloning | Expands by replicating identical copies of itself | Aspen groves, franchises, sourdough starters |
Price
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | Affordability | Comparatively low-cost | Mass production, fast food, fast fashion | | Luxury | Intentionally high-cost, often labor-intensive, or status symbol | Veblen goods, supercars, luxury watches | | Skimming | Ingests a large volume of very small transactions or resources | Credit cards, baleen whales, planktivores | | Bundling | Packaged freely with something desirable | Microsoft Office, cable channels, seeds in a fruit |
Time
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Heritage | Multi-generational legacy | Religions, old companies | | Craftsmanship | Uses more time, precision, and attention to detail than competitors | Handmade watches, bespoke tailoring, Leica | | Organic | Natural growth process that cannot be accelerated | Trees, ecosystems, aged cheeses | | Endurance | Ability to operate continuously over a long period of time | Marathon runners, nuclear submarines |
Uniqueness
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | Specialization | Strong competence in a narrow niche | Trade schools, pandas | | Versatility | General competence adapted to many tasks | CPUs, opposable thumbs | | Hybrid | Competence in two distinct areas, or blending of two strengths not usually found together | Frogs, cronuts, amphibious vehicles, hybrid cars | | Divergence | Creativity, unusualness, differentiation from the norm | Van Gogh, Picasso, Frank Gehry | | Authenticity | Traceable to its source, especially where counterfeiting is prevalent | Money, olive oil, art | | Rarity | Naturally limited in quantity, at the edge of the distribution curve | Beachfront property, Victor Wembanyama | | Scarcity | Artificially limited in quantity | Collectibles, NFTs | | Secrecy | Made difficult to copy by protecting private knowledge, or combining components in a way that cannot be disentangled | Magicians, Coca-Cola, trade secrets | | Irreverence | Contrarian, counter-cultural, disregard for tradition | Richard Branson, South Park |
Offense
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | | Violence | Destroys or consumes the opponent through physical force | Military attacks, predators | | Litigation | Weakens opponents through legal burden | Patent trolls, lawsuits, Mickey Mouse | | Nettlesomeness | Causes the opponent to make mistakes | Magnus Carlsen, terrorism | | Sabotage | Creates weaknesses in the opponent’s structure or defenses | Stuxnet, cutting undersea cables | | Parasitism | Extracts or hijacks resources from a host | Mosquitos, tapeworm | | Scavenging | Opportunistically ingests dying or weakened prey | Private equity, vultures | | Espionage | Acquires enemy secrets | Spies | | Swarming | Concentrated attack from a mass of individually weak agents | Bees, DDOS attacks, Zerg rush | | Highest bidder | Overpays or outbids competitors to secure exclusivity | Real Madrid, Softbank, art collectors | | Chokepoint | Controls a passage that competitors or prey must pass through | Suez Canal, grizzlies at a waterfall | | Puppeteering | Takes over a host’s behavior and directs it to serve you | Cordyceps, toxoplasma |
Defense
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Deterrence | Mutually assured destruction, projecting fear of violence or litigation | Nuclear weapons, trademarks, patents | | Reliability | Reduces maintenance costs, minimizes downtime | Zippo lighters, Toyota cars | | Predictability | Repeatable process with little deviation to create a consistent product or experience | Disneyland, Starbucks | | Unpredictability | Creating an element of surprise, confusion, or variability | Squid ink, smoke screen, Banksy, Lady Gaga | | Decentralization | Redundancy and distributed competency to reduce single points of failure | Solar power, grassroots movements | | Security | Resistance to theft, confiscation, unwanted access | Banks, vaults, locks | | Privacy | Protection against unwanted information disclosure | Encrypted messaging apps, VPNs | | Durability | Physical robustness, resistance to damage, or injury | LeBron James, cast iron skillets | | Neutrality | Displays long-term non-belligerence, a safe haven | Switzerland, Red Cross | | Obscurity | Survival by remaining unknown or undetected | Deep-sea creatures, closed-source software | | Antifragility | Becomes stronger when exposed to stress or usage | BitTorrent, muscles |
Deception
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | | Camouflage | Ability to blend into the surrounding environment | Chameleons, stealth aircraft | | Mimicry | Superficially adopts characteristics of another species to trick opponents | Harmless snakes mimicking venomous ones | | Decoy | Distracts or misleads adversaries | Chaff, fake security cameras | | Lure | Preys on other organisms by setting attractive traps | Anglerfish, honeypot | | Infiltration | Gets past defenses without notice | Trojan horse, malware, smuggling |
Timing
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | | First-mover | Acts first to gain an advantage | Netflix, Tesla | | Second-mover | Fast-follower, moves quickly to copy the first-mover | Facebook-Snapchat | | Last-mover | Waits until all opponents have expended energy on failed approaches | Apple |
Accreditation
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | Monopoly | Artificial control of a resource or market approved by the governing body | Patents, regulatory capture | | Prestige | Endorsed by authoritative sources via awards, degrees, or other recognition | Michelin-starred restaurants, Ivy League graduates | | Curation | Selectiveness, particular ability in choosing and grouping | Art galleries, HBO, venture capital |
Collaboration
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Union | Reduce friction between potential competitors by adopting a common set of rules | Mergers and acquisitions, United States, European Union | | Alliance | Partnership that enables some benefits of a union while maintaining independence | Partnerships | | Emergence | Hive mind, wisdom of the crowd | Ant colonies, beehives, democracy | | Centralization | Single decision-making entity | Dictatorships | | Standardization | Emergent alignment that reduces friction | Language, railway gauge, metric system | | Symbiosis | Mutually beneficial dependency between two organisms | Two-party political system, fig wasp | | Herding | Grouping of many individuals to protect against larger or dangerous competitors | Trade associations, school of fish | | Distributed ownership | Owned by the community | REI Co-op, Green Bay Packers | | Transparency | Open and visible process or inner workings that encourages trust | Open-source software |
Speed and scale
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | Iteration | Ability to iterate and change quickly, shortening the cycle time between improvements | SpaceX | | Efficiency | Uses a low amount of energy or resources to perform similar capabilities to competitors | LED bulbs | | Agility | Nimbleness, easily adapts to a changing environment | Gymnasts, squirrels, go-karts | | Precision | High level of accuracy and exactness in performance or output | Swiss watches, CNC machining | | Blitzing | Sudden attack, expending intense resources in a concentrated manner | Hostile takeovers, blitz marketing campaigns | | Composability | Ability to assemble components and systems in different configurations | APIs, Stripe | | Modularity | Composed of independent units that can be used in different combinations | LEGO, prefab buildings |
Ease
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | Intuitiveness | Ease of use and understanding, without explicit instruction | Dieter Rams designs | | Fun | Provides enjoyment and amusement | Video games, amusement parks, Duolingo | | Simplicity | Limited points of failure, minimalistic design | Hammer, MUJI | | Low-friction | Minimal resistance or hassle in use or interaction | One-click ordering | | Charm | Charisma, ability to create loyalty and warmth through delightful personality or aesthetics | Oprah Winfrey, Paris |
Transformation
| Strategy | Description | Examples | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Malleability | Ability to change appearance or form, can be modified or customized easily | Clay, software code, method actors | | Metamorphosis | Transforms between states optimized for different functions or environments | Caterpillars → butterflies, tadpole → frogs | | Copycat | Replicates another’s method or style | Fast fashion, generic brands |
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