Category: Positioning
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The Positioning Test That Destroys 99% of “Experts”
To every copywriter masquerading as a positioning expert, try this experiment. And if you’re hiring one, do this first. Here’s the test: Take these exact words: “We make AI work for you.” Now imagine three companies saying it: Feel the difference? When ChatGPT says it, you believe it. They own AI conversation in your mind.…
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The most dangerous advice comes from those who succeeded without knowing why
Everyone loves that Dakota Meyer quote about not taking criticism from people you wouldn’t take advice from. LinkedIn eats it up. Founders tattoo it on their minds. It’s also completely backwards. Here’s what I’ve learned analyzing hundreds of companies through the positioning lens: Successful founders are terrible at explaining their own success. Ask Stewart Butterfield…
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The Industry’s Biggest Confusion: Why Framing Isn’t Positioning
Most positioning work isn’t positioning at all. It’s framing. And this confusion is costing companies their shot at mental monopolies. Here’s a simple test. Pull up any company’s “positioning document.” If it starts with “We are…” or “Our product…” or answers “Who’s it for?” and “How’s it different?” That’s NOT positioning. That’s framing. This isn’t…
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Why Everything You Know About Go-to-Market Strategy is Backwards
Note: Grant’s post about choosing between “rabbits” (many small customers) and “whales” (a few large enterprises) perfectly illustrates how even smart people can confuse tactical distribution choices with strategic positioning. He thinks he’s describing how to choose your go-to-market strategy, but he’s actually documenting symptoms while missing the disease (the causality flows opposite to what…
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The Day I Stopped Believing in Product Superiority
What would you have to believe for positioning to be more important than product? I’ve been asking this question for 20 years. To Fortune 500 CEOs. To startup founders. To myself. Most people think it’s a ridiculous question. Of course products matter more. Products are real. Products solve problems. Products create value. Positioning? That’s just……
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The Lego turnaround story gets told wrong
The Lego turnaround story is often told. It is rarely understood. Most see operational discipline. Cut costs. Focus on the core. CEO saves company through efficiency. That reading mistakes tactical fixes for strategic architecture. 2003: Lego bleeds $1 million daily. Specialized pieces overflow warehouses. Star Wars sets rot after movie hype dies. Classic turnaround setup.…
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Great Jeans, Not Great Genes
American Eagle’s “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign triggered outrage, applause, and (crucially) 700,000 new customers. Everyone thinks they know why. They’re wrong. In this moment, we’re going to do three things: 1) The Hook: “It worked because celebrity + controversy” American Eagle hired a famous person, made a cheeky pun, Twitter exploded, and suddenly:…
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Becoming: The Architecture of Identity-Driven Positioning
Becoming is the quiet engine that moves every person and every company. It begins as tension: “What I am now” pulls against “what I could be.” When that tension is acknowledged and addressed, growth begins. But this tension is more than discomfort. It’s the fundamental force that drives all meaningful transformation. In individuals, it manifests…
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Beyond the Positioning Facade: Why 95% of Companies Stop at Level 1
The Great Positioning Delusion We live in an era where every marketing consultant has become a “positioning expert.” LinkedIn overflows with thought leaders coining new terms for old concepts, calling storytelling “narrative positioning,” rebranding customer segmentation as “micro-positioning,” or confusing brand messaging with strategic positioning. The result? A marketplace drowning in positioning theatre while missing…
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What You Can Learn About Positioning from a Neuroscientist and Behaviour expert
For over two decades, I’ve taught that positioning is not what you say, it’s who you become. It’s not messaging. It’s not brand. It’s not storytelling. It’s the gravitational core of your business. The noun you own. The mental territory you occupy. The identity you help your customer step into. Now, along comes Chase Hughes,…
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What Other Regulated Sectors Can Teach Canadian Banks and Fintechs About POSITIONING
Canadian banks face a problem that balance sheets can’t solve. They hold the deposits, own the charters, and pass every stress test. Yet when you ask customers what each bank stands for, you get the same tired words: trust, convenience, innovation. Every player claims the same concepts. Nobody owns anything distinctive in the mind. This…
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Why EQ Bank’s Next Move Decides Who Owns the Customer in 2030
This article builds on the first one. EQ Bank began in 2016 as a low-cost deposit engine for its parent, Equitable Bank. High rates, no branches, clean app, good funding for the mortgage book, job done. Seven years later, the playbook feels crowded. Neo Financial, Tangerine, and even credit unions now copy the same perks.…