About this quote

Winning any high-stakes conflict requires you to control what your opponent thinks is true. If you lay all your cards on the table, you hand over your leverage. Why let a competitor know your next move before you make it? You must mask your strengths to look weak, and project strength when you are actually struggling. Strategy is about managing perception, not just working hard.

When to use it

• Before going into the salary negotiation, I made sure not to reveal my minimum acceptable number. I let them believe I had another offer on the table to get a better starting figure.
• During the championship match, our coach had us run a play we had not used all season. The defense was completely unprepared because they expected our usual routine.
• We launched a quiet beta test for our new software without any press releases. That kept our main competitor from rushing to copy our features before we were ready.
• I purposely left my knight exposed to make my opponent think I made a mistake. When they took the bait, I trapped their queen.