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Attack Yourself Before Your Competitors Do

A black hat review is where your team puts on your competitors’ hats and tries to destroy your own strategy. It sounds counterproductive, but it’s one of the most powerful tools for winning government contracts. You find your own weaknesses and fix them before your competitors can use them against you. Why this matters: Your competitors are definitely looking for ways to attack your approach. The question is whether you find those vulnerabilities first, or they do.

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How to Run a Killer Black Hat Review

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Set Up the War Game

Get the Right People:
  • People who weren’t involved in creating your original strategy (fresh eyes see problems)
  • Your most cynical team members (they’ll find every weakness)
  • Someone who knows each major competitor really well
  • A strong facilitator who can keep things productive
Assign the Villains:
  • Each person plays a specific competitor (“I’m going to be MegaCorp”)
  • Give them intelligence files on their assigned competitor
  • Tell them their job is to destroy your chances of winning
  • Set ground rules: attack the strategy, not the people

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Phase 1: Find Your Weak Spots

Each “competitor” reviews your strategy asking:
  • Where can I attack this approach and make it look bad?
  • What assumptions are they making that I can challenge?
  • What parts of their solution are vulnerable or risky?
  • How can I position my company’s strengths against their weaknesses?
Common vulnerabilities they’ll find:
  • Technical risks you haven’t addressed
  • Past performance gaps you’re hoping they won’t notice
  • Key personnel who might not be available
  • Pricing assumptions that might be too optimistic

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Phase 2: Plan the Attack

Each competitor develops their counter-strategy:
  • How would I position against this approach in my proposal?
  • What would I tell the customer about the risks of choosing them?
  • How would I price to make their approach look expensive?
  • What partnerships would I form to neutralize their advantages?
Look for patterns:
  • Are multiple competitors attacking the same weakness?
  • Which vulnerabilities could actually cost you the contract?
  • What counter-moves are you not prepared for?
  • Where do you need better intelligence on competitor capabilities?

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Phase 3: Build Your Defense

For each major vulnerability:
  • How can you eliminate or reduce this weakness?
  • What messages can you craft to address this concern proactively?
  • Do you need new partnerships or team members to fill gaps?
  • How can you turn this weakness into a relative strength?
Update your strategy:
  • Revise your technical approach to address identified risks
  • Strengthen your team where competitors might attack
  • Develop counter-messages for likely competitor attacks
  • Prepare contingency plans for different competitive scenarios

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What You’ll Get Out of This

A Reality Check: Your original strategy probably has more holes than you thought Attack Prevention: Competitors can’t use vulnerabilities you’ve already fixed Counter-Strategies: Prepared responses to likely competitor moves Intelligence Gaps: Clear list of what you need to learn about competitors Stronger Positioning: Messages that address concerns before they’re raised Example Black Hat Insight: Original strategy: “We’ll modernize their legacy system with cloud technology” Black hat finding: “Incumbent will say this is risky and unproven in government” Defensive response: “Our approach reduces risk through proven cloud migration methodology and gradual transition plan” Ready to identify the target personnel who can help you win?