Muhammad Ali was cornered. Muhammad Ali looked tired. George Foreman had him against the ropes and seemed like he was pummelling Ali with punches.

But suddenly Ali launched a counter attack and won the bout! The crowd went crazy. It wasn’t until later that people realized Ali was taking on the punches on purpose.

Why would Ali want to be punched on purpose?

Ali called it the rope-a-dope strategy. Be a dope at the rope. Allow your opponent to throw non-injuring punches and tire himself out. Once he is tired, go on the offensive.

It seems like a crazy risky tactic. But it’s what made Ali the world’s greatest. It’s the difference between a good boxer and a great boxer. Because by showing a weakness, Ali controlled the bout. He made Foreman follow his every step. He knew how Foreman would attack him, and how to defend against that attack without being hurt.

“When preparing a defense, the good Samurai doesn’t leave any weakness. The great Samurai leaves one weakness, so he knows from which direction the enemy will attack.”

The King of England uses the one weakness strategy

King Harold Godwinson of England had just defeated his own brother Tostig and Harold III of Norway at the battle of Stamford Bridge. When news arose of one more invasion. King Godwinson promptly marched off with his disciplined English army. It was the Battle of Hastings.

The invaders tried to break the English battle lines hour after hour. But without any success. And so finally, they pretended to flee in panic. When the English soldiers saw the enemy turn their backs and run away, they gave chase. It was the first time they broke their well organized defensive shield. 

And as soon as that happened, the invading Normans turned around and attacked. King Godwinson perished in the battle. And Duke William of Normandy was crowned the King of England on Christmas of 1066 – forever changing the island’s history.

Decoy weakness

The steps are simple:

• Show a weakness or an error
• Peoples attention and focus will be drawn to it
• That’s when you take advantage of the setup and counter punch

By making an obvious mistake, you control the narrative. Thats what graphic designers at Disney did.

In the 1940s, lead animators would create concept designs. But no matter how good these concepts were, they were always shat on by the art directors. The directors always asked them to make changes, even when none were required.

And so, the animators started doing something they did not want to do. They started drawing hair on their characters arms. The directors would see the hair, get distracted by it, and ask the designers to edit it out.

The designers controlled the feedback they received because of the decoy weakness. They understood that the directors pointed out mistakes not because there were mistakes, but because it was their job to find mistakes. They wanted to feel like they were doing a good job. So by giving them an obvious mistake to correct, their work became easier.

Good designers try to do perfect work in the first draft itself. But great designers leave an obvious mistake in.

Why does decoy weakness work so well?

We humans have a need to feel like we are in control. Pointing out mistakes gives us a sense of control. Attacking a weak spot makes us feel superior.

So craft a decoy weakness. Give your prospect this easy win and let them feel like they are in control. This setup helps you dunk the basket in.

The risk with decoy weakness

But what if George Foreman would have landed a match ending punch at the ropes? Decoy weakness works like the lightning rod and allows you to attract the action where you want. But what if the lightning is over-powerful and breaks the rod?

The decoy weakness strategy only works if your skill is better than the opponent’s strength. 

Great boxers gauge their opponents punches before leading them on. They work on building up a stronger jaw before the bout itself. Only then do they implement the decoy weakness strategy.

George Foreman had destroyed Joe Frazier (who had defeated Ali earlier.) George Foreman was undefeated. Ali was told it would be impossible to defeat Foreman. But yet, he tired out Foreman and delivered a knock out in the 8th round – because he controlled Foreman in the ring by leaving a weakness open.

Action Summary:

• Craft a decoy weakness. One small error. Something that elicits people’s attention and allows you to control the narrative.

• Don’t implement the decoy weakness if you don’t have a strong countermove.