Article: Business Jujitsu: Using the momentum of others

In martial arts, Jujitsu rests on a simple principle: do not meet force only with force. Read the movement. Use momentum. Turn what is already coming toward you to advantage.

It is a useful business principle too. Many businesses still approach competition too directly.

A competitor gets louder, so they try to get louder too. A rival adds features, so they rush to match them. A category begins clustering around the same promises, language, and look-and-feel – and instead of stepping back to read the pattern, businesses often join the crowd.

That can feel competitive. But it is not always strategic.

In crowded markets, advantage often comes LESS from colliding head-on, and more from reading where competitors’ energy is already flowing – then spotting what they may have left exposed: an under-served audience, an overlooked need, a simpler experience, or a clearer way of framing what customers want.

The implications can be significant. It may lead to reforming a product offering, or simply expressing that offering in a new way. It may mean rethinking how customers are served, or embracing new technologies when others are slow off the mark. But while the outcomes may take many forms, the starting point is often the same… a watchful eye on market-place momentum.

So yes, study competitors. But study the wider market too. And do so NOT merely to copy, match, or oppose, but to understand where momentum is moving in your channel… and how that movement might be turned to your own advantage.