This time last year, I was reading in my dorm room at the China Europe International Business School; I made it a point to read one book a week while I was living in Shanghai. One of my favorite books that I had picked up from the CEIBS Library was Judo Strategy by David Yoffie and Mary Kwak. The book tackled a problem very relevant to today’s times:
How do you compete with opponents who have size, strength, and history on their side?
David and Mary’s answer lies in a simple but powerful lesson: rather than oppose strength to strength, successful challengers use their opponents’ size and power to bring them down. This was the message at the heart of Judo Strategy.
The book introduces a ground-breaking approach to competition that shows companies how to win against imposing odds. The authors use vivid real life examples that demonstrate how managers can translate the core principles of judo – a martial art that prizes skill not size – into a winning business strategy.
In the martial art of judo, a combatant uses the weight and strength of his opponent to his own advantage rather than opposing blow directly to blow. Judo strategy is based on three elements – rapid movement, flexibility, and leverage – each of which translates into a competitive principle.
- By mastering movement, managers can learn to seize the lead. The first principle requires judo players to move rapidly to new markets and uncontested ground, thus avoiding head-to-head combat.
- By maintaining balance, companies can successfully engage with opponents and respond to rivals’ attacks. The second principle demands that players give way to superior force when squarely attacked.
- By exploiting leverage, managers can transform their competitors’ strengths into strategic liabilities. The third principle calls for players to use the weight and strength of opponents against them.
Judo strategists try to avoid sumo matches – this is when combatants wrestle each other directly. In sumo matches, agility and brains matter but weight and strength matter far more as the goal is to force the opponent to the ground or out of the ring. If a small challenger gets into a sumo match – in other words, if he/she goes head to head against a large player – the small challenger is generally bound to lose.
Judo strategy is a useful mind-set for any small company competing with a large, better-established one. It is also well suited to turbulent, technology-driven Internet competition. Skilled judo players use rapid movement to avoid head-to-head confrontations with potentially superior opponents – moving the battle to a terrain where their opponents do not have an advantage.
Moreover, a judo combatant must be prepared to respond to surprise moves. The real challenge is learning how to give way to an attack before fatal injuries occur. Judo players should never escalate unwinnable wars; by yielding to superior force rather than resisting it, a company in a relatively weak position can enhance its chances for survival.
Judo strategy, like judo the martial art, does not advocate killing the competition. Rather, judo strategy uses movement and flexibility to avoid a fight whenever possible and leverage to get the upper hand.
Finally, and most importantly, never forget that judo strategy can be used against you.
