CLIPPINGS

Successful judo strategists stay on the offensive at all times. “Be a leader, and stay a leader,” as Donna Dubinsky [co‐founder of Palm Computing and Handspring] says. Once a smaller or weaker firm starts to play defense, the game is usually over. So “play offense and play to win,” is the advice of Intuit founder Scott Cook. “If you play defense, you get a defensive mentality, and you start merely following your competitor,” Cook points out. But staying on the offensive does not mean taking on competitors head‐to‐head. “Life is too short,” Cook says. “I really try to avoid a frontal assault against an established competitor.” “You don't do frontal assaults against armies that are ten times your size. Those are suicide missions,” echoes David Peterschmidt, Inktomi's CEO.