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 |
| 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 |