• Wealthsimple: What Happens When You Own the Door But Want to Own the House

    Wealthsimple: What Happens When You Own the Door But Want to Own the House

    A Note Before We Begin: I need to be clear about something from the start: I’m a huge admirer of what Wealthsimple has built and the work Michael Katchen and his team have been doing. I’ve been following your journey for years, the product evolution, the marketing campaigns, the social content, the way you’ve challenged…

  • Justin Welsh: The Solopreneur Who Proves More Than He Claims

    Justin Welsh: The Solopreneur Who Proves More Than He Claims

    Note Before We Begin: This analysis exists because I’ve been watching Justin Welsh’s work for years and genuinely admire what he’s built. The consistency. The refusals. The quiet proof. It’s rare to see someone walk away from easy money because it doesn’t fit how they want to live. I wrote this because I love looking…

  • The Recovery Paradox: What WHOOP Proves Without Saying

    The Recovery Paradox: What WHOOP Proves Without Saying

    Note Before We Begin: This analysis comes from a place of genuine admiration. I’ve been watching WHOOP for years. Will Ahmed’s podcast appearances, the company’s content, and the way they’ve built something that clearly matters to the athletes and performers who wear it. There’s a rare discipline in what they’ve created. Most companies would have…

Dive deep into business, brand and strategy.

  • WHY ARE marketers delulu about positioning?

    Think you understand positioning? Think again. Most marketers are living in a fantasy world when it comes to positioning. They’re clinging to outdated ideas that are costing their companies millions. Let’s shatter some illusions, shall we? Myth #1: “Positioning is about being unique.” Wake up, people. In today’s oversaturated market, true uniqueness is as rare…

  • “Why is everyone using Slack?”

    It’s not just a coincidence. It’s social proof in action. We humans are pack animals. We look to others to figure out what’s “normal” or “right.” It’s survival instinct, really. Back in caveman days, doing what everyone else did kept you alive. But here’s the thing: this instinct doesn’t always serve us well in the…

  • Growth hacking your way to irrelevance

    The obsession with metrics, optimization, efficiency and automation in tech marketing is a forest-for-the-trees problem. They’re missing the bigger picture. Instead, they should focus on their brand. Brand building isn’t about instant gratification. It’s about long-term value creation. But try telling that to a VC-backed startup racing against its burn rate. The irony? Many of…

  • How I embraced my broken English

    Most kids try to hide things they’re not good at. But I decided to try something different. My English was really bad. I couldn’t speak well or write good sentences. My grades were very low, and I had trouble understanding what people said. Here’s what I asked myself: What if being bad at something could…

  • Positioning is not about what you say.

    It’s far from it. Positioning is about what they think. Who’s they? Your customers. Your market. Your world. You don’t control positioning. You influence it. Think of it as mental real estate. Prime property in your customer’s mind. What’s your plot? Is it front and center? Or lost in the suburbs of irrelevance? You can’t…

  • Most ‘experts’ and businesses get positioning wrong.

    Tragically wrong. This isn’t just theory. It’s battle-tested wisdom. Your clever tagline? Not positioning.Your unique selling proposition? Not positioning.Your elevator pitch? Still, not positioning. And just to drive the point home, these iconic slogans? They’re not positioning either: “Just Do It” – Nike“I’m Lovin’ It” – McDonald’s“Think Different” – Apple“Because You’re Worth It” – L’Oréal“Finger-Lickin’…

  • You’re running an e-commerce empire

    It’s growing fast. Your servers are melting. Your IT team’s on life support. Black Friday’s coming, and you’re sh*tting bricks. What do you do? “Let’s buy more servers!” “We need to hire more IT staff!” “Maybe we should slow down our growth…” Sound familiar? Now imagine you’re Amazon in the early 2000s. This was their…

  • Guinness, Michelin, and Red Bull: When your actions speak louder than ‘marketing.’

    We’ve been sold a lie. The lie: marketing is about ads, slogans, and social media campaigns. But what if the best marketing isn’t marketing at all? Guinness, Michelin, and Red Bull figured this out long ago. A beer company cataloging world records?A tire manufacturer rating restaurants?An energy drink brand racing Formula 1 cars? Madness, right?…

  • Ever pitched an idea and felt like you were talking to a brick wall?

    Yeah, me too. It sucks. But here’s the thing: We’re doing it all wrong. I used to think selling ideas was about being the smoothest talker in the room. Boy, was I wrong. It’s not about talking. It’s about listening. Remember that client who seemed impossible to please? The one who shot down every suggestion?…

  • We love to talk strategy

    Big words. Grand visions. Five-year plans. But what happens when the rubber meets the road? Suddenly, it’s all about this quarter’s numbers. Next month’s targets. Tomorrow’s stock price. We’re strategic thinkers with short-term actions. Visionaries with myopic tendencies. It’s like planting a seed and digging it up every day to check if it’s grown. Why?…

  • Why your ‘customer-first’ BS is fooling nobody

    Ever sat in a meeting where “customer-centric” was thrown around more times than a Frisbee at a beach party? Yeah, me too. It’s easy to say you’re all about the customer. But actually doing it? That’s where things get tricky. Let’s cut through the jargon and get real about customer centricity with some practical steps.…

  • We’re obsessed with numbers.

    Metrics. KPIs. Growth hacking. But what are we really measuring? Often, it’s just noise. Short-term gains that fade like mist in the morning sun. What if we zoomed out? Saw the forest, not just the trees. Brand isn’t fluffy. It’s not a checkbox on a to-do list. It’s the bedrock of everything. Your business is…

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