Too often a company attempts to emulate the leader. “They must know what works,” goes the rationale, “so let’s do something similar.” Not good thinking. It’s much better to search for an opposite attribute that will allow you to play off against the leader. The key word here is opposite—similar won’t do. Coca-Cola was the original and thus the choi

By throwing multiple obstacles in the path of would-be imitators, fit lowers the odds that a strategy can be copied.