Pyrrhic Victory

A tactical victory achieved at such a high cost that the strategic value of winning is negated. The cost of victory exceeds the cost of defeat, resulting in a net loss of overall benefit.

Articles on this principle

• Pyrrhic Victory: Winning the Battle, Losing the War

  A victory is only worth winning if the cost of winning doesn't exceed the cost of losing.

Related principles

• ↺ Counters
  Asymmetric Arms Race
• → Links
  Core Competency Reversion
• → Links
  Bottleneck Shift Law
• ↺ Counters
  Low-End Disruption
• → Links
  Inversion