The Kansas City Shuffle is a sleight of hand, a magic trick, or an advanced diversion strategy. It is also the plot of a captivating movie starring Bruce Willis and Josh Hartnett, Lucky Number Slevin, and the title of a 1920s jazz song.

The trap works as follows:
The enemy leads us to act strongly in a certain direction, to the point where we can no longer escape it.

In detail:

Setting up the diversion: Our enemy draws our attention to a specific aspect, making us believe we have uncovered the scheme and can outsmart it.

Reinforcing the false perception: The enemy makes us believe we have the upper hand and are in control of the situation.

Executing the real plan: Taking advantage of our overconfidence in our understanding of the trick, the enemy carries out the actual plan, which is the opposite of what we anticipated.

How to guard against it?

Be wary of overconfidence in a strategic issue.
Consider that the information we perceive may not reflect reality or could be used to influence us.
Be cautious with information communicated by our enemy.
Reflect on the strategic consequences of a judgment error.

These recommendations apply to any strategic situation, such as sales or business strategy.

Otherwise, I highly recommend the movie. You’ll have an excellent time watching it!

Kansas City Shuffle strategy: you’d better know it exists