Didn't FlinchTake the RoomField guide $15

The open

Today's drop

History, then one no

The open is a loaded number.

In Issue 001, Rep. Hank Johnson asks Tim Cook what stops Apple from raising the App Store cut to 50 percent. Then he tightens it: nothing stops you, does it.

Cook does not defend 50. He does not explain why the fee is fair. He puts 2008 on the table — commissions have never gone up since the store opened — then a short no, then the other doors: Android, Windows, Xbox, PlayStation.

That sequence is the play we named History, then one no. Use it when a room hands you a hypothetical that already smears you. Do not litigate the invention. Answer with a dated fact, one calm refusal, and two real alternatives a person could walk through tomorrow.

The tape is free. The play is free. Read Issue 001, then run the drill this week.

Issue 001The play

Weekly scoreboard

IssueNo. 001
The dateJuly 29, 2020

The call

DIDN'T FLINCH

The player

Tim Cook

The room

House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust

Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 6

The play

What's to stop Apple from raising the cut to 50%?

Johnson

“What's to stop Apple from increasing its commission to 50 percent?”

Cook

“Sir, we have never increased commissions in the store since the first day it operated in 2008.”

Johnson

“There's nothing to stop you from doing so, is it?”

Cook

“No, sir. I disagree strongly with that.”

Cook

“There is a competition for developers just like there's a competition for customers. And so the competition for developers, they can write their apps for Android or Windows or Xbox or PlayStation. So we have fierce competition at the developer side and the customer side, which is essentially — it's so competitive I would describe it as a street fight for market share in the smartphone business.”

How it played

Steal this

Don't defend the number.

Put history on the table, one calm no.

Then name the other doors.

All issuesAll plays

The tapes and the plays are free

The scoreboard, the drops, and the named techniques stay on the board. The $15 guide is the pocket shutdown if you want it on paper.

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