The “Kill Your Company” Exercise

The “Kill Your Company” exercise, pioneered by Lisa Bodell, offers a unique way to uncover your company’s blind spots, encouraging innovation and problem-solving.

Often, leadership and employees struggle to recognise their company’s weaknesses and threats due to ingrained biases that cloud their judgement. This exercise serves as a powerful tool to mitigate these biases by enabling a fresh, unbiased evaluation of your organisation from a new perspective.

In this article, we’ll delve into the practical applications of the “Kill Your Company” exercise, highlighting its role in helping organisations identify and address critical areas for improvement and innovation.

What is the “Kill Your Company” exercise?

The “Kill Your Company” exercise is a practical activity where participants step into the shoes of their competitors. They critically assess how these rivals might target their own company by exploiting its threats and weaknesses. The core question here is: “What would you do to put us out of business today?” This exercise is all about idea generation and coming up with innovative solutions that could be the difference between a company’s survival and its fall.

The inspiration for this exercise comes from the military’s use of a similar technique known as “Red Teaming.” In the military context, Red Teaming involves a portion of the team assuming the role of the adversary, often referred to as the ‘red team.’ Their task is to obstruct the ‘blue team’ from accomplishing a hypothetical mission. This adversarial perspective is designed to highlight weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the military’s strategic planning and execution before actual missions are undertaken.

By thinking like fierce competitors, participants create a kind of “psychological distance.” This distance allows them to explore creative solutions more freely. Adopting the mindset of a competitor encourages open thinking and the exploration of entirely new approaches that could disrupt the organisation’s established ways of doing things.

How to “Kill Your Company”

Step 1: Ideation

Begin by assembling all participants, either in person or virtually, and pose the question: ‘Imagine you’re working for our biggest competitor. What could you do to kill our company?’

Emphasise that this is a brainstorming session, and participants should write down any ideas that come to mind without striving for perfection.

Some initial concepts might involve competitors launching superior products, data security breaches, corporate espionage, or the introduction of a new service that renders your product irrelevant.

Step 2: Organising

Proceed by allowing each participant to share their ideas, reinforcing that all suggestions are valid. Record these ideas on a whiteboard or virtual sticky notes. As a group, collectively arrange these ideas in order of perceived threat level, placing the most severe threats at the top of the list.

Step 3: Refining

Once you’ve identified the most significant threats, engage participants in a discussion about how your organisation could effectively counteract these threats, either individually or as a group.

This discussion should yield a list of potential solutions or strategies to mitigate these major threats.

Additionally, consider flipping the exercise to brainstorm ways your company’s strengths and opportunities could be leveraged to gain a competitive edge over competitors.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the “Kill Your Company” exercise serves as a valuable tool for organisations. It helps identify vulnerabilities, encourages innovation, and prepares businesses for a competitive world. By having employees envision scenarios in which their company could fail, it allows for a clear-eyed evaluation of weaknesses and threats. This exercise empowers both leaders and employees to address these issues while seeking opportunities for growth.

Regularly practising this exercise becomes a proactive measure. It ensures that your company is in control of its narrative and can adapt swiftly to challenges. By challenging assumptions, addressing weaknesses, and welcoming fresh perspectives, companies can maintain their agility in a constantly changing business environment.

In essence, “killing” your company is about renewal and growth, not destruction. It’s a strategic exercise that ensures your company remains the architect of its own success story.

So, embrace the “Kill Your Company” exercise as a means to secure your company’s future, engage your team, and drive innovative solutions that lead to long-lasting success.

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