Hardball players play to win. They focus relentlessly on their competitive advantage, as Wal-Mart does by constantly honing its innovative distribution and inventory-management systems. Like Toyota with its unmatched production system, hardball companies strive for "extreme" competitive advantage. They attack indirectly, as Southwest Airlines does with its strategy of bypassing major airports. By communicating a sense of urgency—"Our rivals have put our jobs, wages, and stock price on the line—hardball competitors exploit employees' will to win. And they "play the edges—probing that narrow territory where society says you can play the game legally.

Hardball players' reward? Leading market share, great margins, rapid growth—and the pleasure of watching their competitors squirm.

Use these hardball strategies to shift your competitive position, consolidate gains, and prepare your next attack.

Devastate Rivals' Profit Sanctuaries
Identify your and competitors' profit sanctuaries—business areas generating the most wealth. Protect your profit sanctuaries—while striking at rivals'.

Example:
When vacuum cleaner maker SweepCo attacked competitor VacuCorp's fattest profit sanctuary by lowballing products to its national retail accounts, VacuCorp retaliated. It began selling a low-cost version of SweepCo's cash cow—its canister model. Whenever SweepCo tried lowballing a VacuCorp major account, VacuCorp pursued a major SweepCo account with its cheaper canister. SweepCo got the message and backed off.

Plagiarize with Pride
Shamelessly improve on others' good ideas. In the 1950s, Toyota copied just-in-time manufacturing techniques from Ford, ultimately beating Nissan and later becoming a major presence in the U.S. auto market. And don't limit your "thievery to direct competitors. European-based RyanAir successfully transplanted Southwest's model overseas.

Deceive Competitors
Use "fakes" to throw rivals off balance—and prevent them from meeting your attack.

Example:
When Wausau Paper decided to carve out a high-margin business by offering distributors next-day service and customized products, it had to lock up customers before competitors caught on. It concealed its strategy from the trade press and lulled competitors into a false sense of security by quietly abandoning the market for large rolls of paper. It even purchased competitors' paper rolls to use as raw material for its own high-margin specialty products. Wausau thus reduced its production of large paper rolls and at the same time further reinforced its rivals' reliance on those low-margin products.

Unleash Overwhelming Force
Deliver a focused, direct, and swift blow—overhauling your business if necessary.

Example:
When beer maker Anheuser-Busch began eating into Frito-Lay's leadership position in salty snacks with its Eagle brand products, Frito-Lay got back into fighting shape. It boosted quality, cut costs, and hired an army of additional salespeople who staffed supermarkets around the clock and constantly restocked shelves with Frito-Lay products. The assault forced Eagle products out of business.

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