Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M0315

Kill the Company

Kill the Company
BusinessmediumStrategic Management
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A reverse strategic exercise. Instead of asking 'how do we win', ask 'if we wanted to bankrupt our company, what would we do?'. Play the role of a competitor and identify your own most fatal weaknesses.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Crisis immunity. Before competitors actually strike, attack yourself first, thereby discovering overlooked fatal flaws during periods of complacency.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

An innovation stimulation method: envision 'how to bankrupt the company', reverse-expose organizational inertia, process redundancy, and blind spots, forcing change.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

Check to track your progress (stored locally)
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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    inc.comhttps://www.inc.com/david-burkus/the-number-one-strategic-planning-exercise-to-do-before-the-new-year.htmlZH · Explicit
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