Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14

When a rival’s move changes your game

33 cards from 13 books, filed under “Strategy and competition”. Newest first; every row is the card’s title and the moment you would use it.

#c1549The Cathartic Purge and the Shadow of TranquillityUse when a strategy session or research team is prematurely locked into a dogmatic narrative and needs a self-erasing devil's-advocate…From Lives of Eminent Philosophers #c1515The Pilot's Orders (Reciprocity of Perfect Virtues vs. Blind Subordinate Virtues)Evaluating executive candidates who claim "brilliant judgment" despite glaring personal vices, or designing training systems that separate…From Handbook of Platonism #c1446Fund Your Rival's Hype To Export HimWhen a loud rival pitches a risky pet venture to the board, second the motion and transfer him the headcount.From The Hobbit #c1441What The Giant Drops Arms The UnderdogWhen competing against an incumbent ten times your size, target the manual handoffs and low-value accounts their automated alerts ignore.From The Hobbit #c1440Your Urgent Mission Is Your Sponsor's DecoyWhen an executive suddenly funds your long-ignored pet project during a company reorg, map which rival department your launch will disrupt.From The Hobbit #c1382Pop will move to youYou're told to change your style to fit the mainstream.From Matriarch #c1364Keep the name in-houseA partner offers easy money to put your brand on their product.From Cancel Me If You Can #c1362The SNL model: launch stars and expect them to leaveYour best people keep getting poached and you're deciding whether to fight it or build around it.From Cancel Me If You Can #c1357Direct visitors are worth more than clicksYou're tempted to inflate traffic or user numbers with visitors who don't care about you.From Cancel Me If You Can #c1353Give each crowd its own night to winYou're selling the same event or product to several groups that compete with each other.From Cancel Me If You Can #c1351Find out what's actually selling the ticketsYou're paying a premium for an outside draw and haven't tested whether your own brand is the real pull.From Cancel Me If You Can #c1346Call every advertiser your competitors haveYou're looking for your first customers and your competitors publish who theirs are.From Cancel Me If You Can #c1330Make them try to be like youYou're the outsider in a field and feel pressure to imitate the incumbents.From Courage Can Save Us #c1310The tier-two supplier is what shuts you downYou're assessing supply or vendor risk and only looking one level down.From Digital Impact #c1297Stack new edges before the old one diesYour current advantage is working well and you've stopped developing a replacement.From Trade Outside the Box #c1294The too-hard pileYou feel you should master everything adjacent to your work.From Trade Outside the Box #c1290Starting points decide the reactionYou're predicting the effect of a move by copying what happened when someone else made it.From Trade Outside the Box #c1287Find the player on tiltThe other side is visibly emotional and you're tempted to match their energy.From Trade Outside the Box #c1280Early is the same as wrong, and so is lateYou're about to bet against a trend just because it has gone a long way.From Trade Outside the Box #c1278Choose the face the judges will chooseYou're right on the merits and need to predict how a crowd, market or committee will actually decide.From Trade Outside the Box #c1272Fronting and slipstreamingOne party is carrying a tough position alone in a group negotiation and the others are quiet.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy #c1254Midterms go to the side whose turnout drops lessYou're forecasting a contest where both sides will lose participation and the question is who loses less.From This Is the Plan #c1249The four years decide the last weekYou're saving effort for the final push of a sale, a vote or a launch.From This Is the Plan #c1248Build the campaign before you know the candidateA big decision is still pending and you could start building the capability any outcome will need.From This Is the Plan #c1247The field marginThe market or matchup is close and you're deciding whether execution details are worth the investment.From This Is the Plan #c1241The lower the profile, the bigger your impactYou're choosing where to spend limited effort and the high-profile contest is already saturated.From This Is the Plan #c1235Every cheap new channel burns outYour team is excited about a new cheap outreach channel because early numbers look great.From This Is the Plan #c1227Simple boxes beat optimal packingExperts defend a custom process that performs well at one step and slows down the whole chain.From How to Take Smart Notes #c1202A harbour that shows visitors nothingOne site has to host visitors and keep sensitive work private.From Carthage: A New History #c1194Marry into the neighboursYou have moved into someone else's territory and depend on them for the basics.From Carthage: A New History #c1187Sail around the middlemenA middleman controls the only route to your supply.From Carthage: A New History #c1148Both sides have to eat and sleepYou're planning a competitive move and looking only at the other side's strengths.From Cyropaedia #c1147The surer you feel, the more you guardYour position is strong and you feel the urge to press it just because you can.From Cyropaedia