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Podcast: The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving
Episode: 575: Ex McKinsey Expert on War Games, John Horn: How to Read Your Competitors (Strategy Skills classics)
Description: John Horn, professor of economics at Washington University's Olin Business School and former McKinsey strategist, shares a disciplined framework for understanding competitive behavior by applying game theory and structured simulations. In this episode, he explains how companies can elevate competitor analysis from basic intelligence gathering to actionable strategic insight. Horn begins by debunking the common misconception that many competitors behave irrationally. As he puts it: "Every single time a client said the competitor is irrational, I could ask them... two, three questions which would explain... why the company was being rational in what...