How to Win Big by Playing a Different Game

Every industry has its rules. What if the secret to explosive growth is ignoring them?

Let’s Talk about Counter-Positioning (and Why You Should Care)

Imagine walking into a crowded room where everyone is dressed the same, speaking the same language, and offering the same handshake. That’s most industries—full of players doing more or less the same thing. Then, in comes someone who flips the script, breaks the mold, and changes the game entirely. That’s counter-positioning in action.

At its core, counter-positioning is about taking the opposite approach of a competitor’s competitive advantage. But here’s the kicker: it works best when the big players can’t—or won’t—follow your lead.

Who Is Counter-Positioning For?

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just for scrappy startups (though it’s gold for them). Counter-positioning is just as powerful for established businesses that want to stay ahead of the curve—or better yet, set it.

• You’re a newcomer: Perfect. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain by challenging the status quo.

• You’re an industry veteran: Even better. Use counter-positioning to disrupt yourself before someone else does.

• You’re a leader with growth on your mind: Then this is your playbook for finding new revenue streams and keeping competitors on their toes.

The 3 Big Benefits of Counter-Positioning

1. You Don’t Need a Fortune to Start Traditional business models come with heavy baggage—like factories, inventory, or massive ad budgets. Counter-positioning lets you sidestep most of that and focus on delivering value in a way your competitors won’t touch. Example: Dollar Shave Club didn’t invest in factories or fancy R&D. Instead, they bought off-the-shelf razors, built a simple subscription model, and went viral with a cheeky $4,500 video. Result? A $1 billion acquisition by Unilever.

2. You Get a Head Start (and Stay There) The best counter-positioning strategies create a business model your competitors won’t copy. Why? Because it doesn’t fit their playbook—or worse, it threatens their core business. Example: Airbnb redefined hospitality by turning spare rooms and empty apartments into travel destinations. Meanwhile, hotel giants stuck to their bricks-and-mortar strategy, giving Airbnb years to scale and dominate.

3. You Can Charge (and Earn) a Premium When you solve a problem in a new way, customers will pay for the privilege. Counter-positioning isn’t about being the cheapest; it’s about delivering value that feels undeniably worth it. Example: Nespresso didn’t just sell coffee. They sold convenience, elegance, and a touch of luxury. By bridging the gap between Starbucks and homebrew, they created a category all their own—and charged 2-3X more than their competitors.

How to Start Using Counter-Positioning Today

1. Find the Gap in Your Industry. Take a hard look at your competitors. What do they all have in common? Maybe it’s the way they sell, who they target, or what they prioritize. Then ask yourself: what’s missing? How could a new offering stand out?

2. Shake Up a New Product Category. Want to grow in a new space? Look for a rule everyone else is following—and break it. What assumptions are holding the category back? What problem are competitors ignoring because it doesn’t fit their business model?

3. Protect Yourself from Disruption. The best defense is a good offense. Map out where your business is most vulnerable—distribution, pricing, customer experience, etc.—and imagine how a competitor could use counter-positioning to steal your market share. Then, beat them to it.

Why Counter-Positioning Works

Here’s the genius of this strategy: it’s not just about doing something different—it’s about doing something better in a way your competitors won’t touch. Counter-positioning forces established players to either ignore you (giving you time to grow) or hurt themselves trying to compete. Either way, you win.

Redefine the Game, Redefine Your Position

Counter-positioning as a strategy is about asking bold questions, challenging industry norms, and finding new ways to create value.

For leaders who want to grow their businesses—not just incrementally, but exponentially—counter-positioning is your not-so-secret weapon. The only question left is: are you ready to play a different game?