Borrow a Knife to Kill
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30
CORE DEFINITION
Do not act personally; use the power of a third party (such as public opinion, regulators, or other competitors) to attack the enemy, thereby avoiding taking risks yourself or exposing your strength through counterattack.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
Leverage ecosystem forces. If you want to attack a competitor's violations, do not issue your own press release (which can easily be seen as malicious competition), but submit evidence to regulatory agencies or consumer associations (borrowing a knife) to use public power to solve the problem.
Anchor fast decisions
One of the Thirty-Six Stratagems: do not act directly, but borrow the power of a third party (public opinion, regulators, contradictions among opponents) to strike the target, making yourself avoid suspicion, save effort, and not expose your strength. The essence is to "leverage others' motives" — find a third party that conflicts with the target, provide incentives/evidence to make them act.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/5Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%80%9F%E5%88%80%E6%9D%80%E4%BA%BAverified
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