In 1588, Philip II of Spain felt righteously invincible.

Fueled by fanatical faith, he launched the Spanish Armada—a fleet of 130 massive warships—to crush Elizabeth I and reclaim England for Catholicism.

For Philip, this wasn’t just a war. It was destiny.

If Elizabeth went toe-to-toe with Spain, she would lose the war – and her country.

So, Elizabeth obsessed over where she could win.

She couldn’t afford a bigger navy, so she invested in spies, who informed her of Spain’s battle schedule and supply chain. England attacked Spain’s supply ships.

She couldn’t overpower Spain’s military, so she sent Sir Francis Drake on state-mandated ‘pirating’ of Spain’s merchant ships.

She couldn’t defeat the Armada at sea, so she slowed them down by setting fire to eight of her own ships, manipulating the Armada into a panic-induced retreat through a stormy English coastline.

Elizabeth could not defeat Spain, but she could destroy Philip’s credit and protect her territory.

Here’s how to apply these lessons to the B2B battlefield:

99% of businesses can’t outspend – or overpower – the top 1%. Certain battles—price wars, massive ad campaigns, or endless product launches—are not winnable.

You don’t have to destroy juggernaut competitors. But you must protect your hard-earned niche using a different playbook.

JAB COMPETITOR’S WEAKNESSES

Even monsters possess soft spots.

• Uncover the cracks in your competitor’s armor. Elizabeth built a spy network. Build your own using human-powered relationships and AI-fueled tools.
• Attack weakness only with your strongest tactics. Don’t fight fair.
• Don’t gamble big on your first strike. Attack. Attack. Attack.

Victory comes from finding their weakness and choking it with your strength.

LEVERAGE LIMITATIONS

Steal Andy Grove’s principle of leverage:

• Amplify the power of your strengths with tools and systems.
• Combine strengths deliberately – if you have your own “Sir Francis Drake,” unleash them publicly. While your competitor is distracted, use your agility to repackage your strongest service.
• Defer – or simply ignore – areas with low leverage.

❝

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

– Archimedes –

 

ENEMY #1? YOUR EGO

Never stop dreaming big. But stop believing your own bullshit. Ask unsettling questions.

• Is my company indisputably awesome at ______? Really??
• Will doing X help me protect my territory? Or am I just using a competitor’s attack as an excuse to chase glitter??
• Are my jabs distracting enough to compel my competitors to flinch?

Sometimes, you must sacrifice a public win for a private victory.