Curveball Strategies to Fool the Competition.
By: Stalk, Jr., George,
Harvard Business Review,
Sep 2006, Vol. 84, Issue 9

Success in the marketplace is ultimately achieved by winning customers, not by defeating competitors.

One way to throw competitors off balance is to mask high performance so rivals fail to see your success until it's too late.

George Stalk, Jr., (stalk.george@bcg.com) is a senior vice president with the Boston Consulting Group and the author of numerous books and articles, including, with Rob Lachenauer, "Hardball: Five Killer Strategies for Trouncing the Competition" (HBR April 2004). He is based in Toronto.