Where Your Company Shouldn’t Compete

September 16, 2013 The first step in setting a winning strategy for your company is deciding where you will do business. But you need to be careful in these choices. Here are two places you should avoid: Your biggest competitor’s space. It’s tempting to take on your strongest opponent head-to-head. But most often their market will be essentially a walled city. Instead look for competitive areas that enable you to attack from unexpected directions, along the lines of least resistance. The white space. Being a first mover in unoccupied territory is an attractive position. But remember that there is only one true first mover, and all too often that space is already occupied by a formidable competitor that you probably don’t see or understand. Adapted from Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works.