What a Punch to the Face Taught Me About Strategy

At 15 years old, I was a nerdy Indian kid who was picked on all the time. Bullies would steal my books, make fun of me, and push me down. As the bullies became more brazen, I decided to take up martial arts.

I thought if I learned to fight, I could avoid being punched in the face. I worked on my attacks, speed, and dodging. After weeks of training, I finally felt ready for my first sparring match.

Unfortunately, in the first 15 seconds I was punched in the face, right on the nose. I crumbled to the ground. I felt discouraged and distraught. My plan had failed!

After the match, my coach pulled me aside, gave me an ice pack, and told me that I needed to learn how to take a punch. “You have to assume that you will get hit.” He said. “You have to prepare your body and mind to keep going after you get hit. That is how you win.”

For the next 8 weeks, I learned how to take punches. Everything from being punched in the face to body blows. By the end of the training, I had so many bruises that I looked like an overripe banana. But, I learned strategies that helped me win my fair share of matches and took care of my bully problem.

I now use the same lessons to fight corporations for market share.

Position (Your Company) for Stability and Movement

To be able to take a punch I had to be in a stable position that also allowed me to move quickly. During a fight, I would be on the balls of my feet with a bend in my knees. This gave me stability for attacks and the fluidity to deal with anything that was thrown at me.

In positioning strategy, we are taught to find a market position, plant our feet firmly, and start swinging. But if market conditions change, or our competitor disrupts the industry, we don’t want to be so rigid that we have nowhere to go.

Build a Solid Foundation (of Culture)

When people get hit with a powerful punch, the first thing that happens is their legs turn to jelly. The legs are the foundation of balance and stability, and they need to be conditioned for strength and endurance.

In our businesses, our legs are the culture and the people. The culture needs stand up no matter how hard the business is getting hit. If the culture buckles, the people will leave, and the business will not get back up.

Roll with the Punches (of Negative Feedback)

The idea of rolling with punches is to move the body and head in the same direction as the force of a blow as you receive it, thereby deflecting much of the force.

Most of the rolling that a company will do involves managing negative feedback. That’s where Brand Judo can come in handy. If we take the time to thoughtfully respond and acknowledge customer’s feelings, we can gain control of the situation and turn negative feedback into a positive experience.

As Bill Gates said: “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

Tighten the Core (Offering)

A body shot to an unconditioned core will cause a person to collapse. It is nearly impossible to get up from these shots. Other than rolling with the punch, the best way to deal with this type of punch is to tighten the core muscles on impact and breathe out.

As businesses, we tend to get overzealous with our product offerings. When we launch one successful product or service, it inevitably leads to more. But we should never forget to focus on our core offering.

A weak core will allow competitors to take us out of the market we once dominated. Basecamp was almost in this position, until they re-dedicated themselves to their core product. It was seen by the industry as a bold move, but from my perspective they were just tightening their core.

Watch the Competition (and Industry)

The punches that hurt the most are the ones that you don’t see coming. The most common mistake for beginners is closing their eyes before a punch lands. The goal is to be aware that punches can come from anywhere, and watch for those possibilities.

History is littered with examples of companies that have closed their eyes before the knockout punch came. The only way to overcome this blindness is to treat everything as a real threat. What if a competitor comes up with a product that changes the industry like Netflix did? Are we ready to roll with that punch? Blockbuster sure wasn’t.

Keep Going After Getting Hit

If you haven’t experienced getting punched in the face, let me tell you — it hurts,a lot. Nothing will change that. But, if we can get through the pain and take action we will always be able to get to our goal.

When I am mentoring people that try to build strategies around the best case scenario, i.e. not getting hit, I like to reference a Mike Tyson quote that sums up my experience:

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” — Mike Tyson

Has your business ever been punched in the face? If so, how did you deal with it?