While sharks are renown as ferocious killers in the ocean, they have few natural predators  Sharks have massive jaws and are able to move in bursts of great speed.  It is a powerful creature, The shark is incredibly difficult to kill Its hide is also very tough, giving it a sort of armor plating.  All in all, the shark has a number of competitive advantages.  This is exactly the type of position that you would want your brand to be in and if you would be conducting a SWOT analysis on a shark compared to just about any other creature in the ocean, you would have a very short list of weaknesses and threats.  It’s no coincidence that some big businesses are described as sharks as they exhibit no mercy in the market place.  Living in California, we occasionally hear about shark attacks.  The reality is that sharks don’t really want to eat humans as we are much bonier than a nice fat seal which is the sharks preferred meal.  Not being a marine biologist, I am posing this competitive strategy as an example and not something I am encouraging anyone to test first hand.  If you were in the water and saw a shark, what is the best strategy?  Getting out is obviously the best but it is not likely that you are going to swim faster than the shark.  I might suggest that you hold your ground, not attract attention and keep the shark in sight.  Should the shark attack, try to punch it in the eye and deflect your body away from its teeth.  This may not be realistic but the point is that the shark is not used to being hit and the mere fact that you as prey struck a blow may encourage the shark to look for weaker prey.  You might also want to hit the shark with a Surf-Grip (shameless plug for a product that I hold a patent) which may be more effective in deflecting the sharks attack.  The moral here is that rarely can you defeat a bigger competitor playing their game.  You need to change the rules, change the playing field or utilize unexpected tactics.  Contact me if you would like to explore how you might develop more effective competitive strategies in your business.