In a world where change and threat come from all sides, from familiar competitors and directions as well as from left field, it behooves all of us to consider how to fend off competitive or substitute threats arising from disruptive technology innovations. While beating disruptive technology threats is very difficult for "incumbents," it is not impossible. In this article, I present three design patterns that incumbents have used to advantage in the past, together with some tips for succeeding with each of them.