Dive deep into business, brand and strategy.
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The Battle You’re Not Fighting (But Should Be): Mind Share vs Market Share
Most founders are losing a war they don’t even know they’re in. You’re tracking conversion rates, user growth, and revenue metrics. Your competitors are doing the same. Everyone is fighting for market share, while the real battle is happening somewhere else entirely. The companies that win don’t just capture market share. They capture mind share.…
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Strategic Review: Matthew Encina’s Rebrand of Mode
An exploration of what was achieved, what was misunderstood, and what remains unclaimed. WHY THIS REVIEW EXISTS This is not a teardown.It’s not a design critique.It’s not a positioning purist sermon. It’s a contribution to a larger conversation: What does it truly take to transform a product into a movement, a brand into a business,…
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From “Yes, But…” to “That’s Us”
Coaching through positioning resistance. Why great positioning fails without conviction and how to build it internally or for your client. Why This Article Exists If you’ve spent any time helping founders, CEOs, or leadership teams work through positioning, you’ve likely heard this line: “Yes, this makes sense… but it won’t work in our space.” This…
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Let’s Clean This Up
After 20 years of practicing, testing, and watching this play out a thousand times over, here’s the no-fluff breakdown of what most people still confuse in brand and business. Copywriting. Messaging. Storytelling. Branding. Positioning. Category. Each sits on a different strategic layer. If you blur them, you make bad decisions. So here’s the clear breakdown,…
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The CEO’s Diagnostic Manual: How to Read Company Signals Before Hiring the Wrong Fix
Worksheet at the bottom. Stop Paying to Solve the Wrong Problem You’ve cycled through three marketing agencies this year. Your conversion rate is still flat. Sales swears the leads are terrible. Marketing swears the messaging is fine. Product blames “the market.” Meanwhile, payroll, ad spend, and your stress level all keep climbing. Sound familiar? Most…
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You Don’t Need Therapy.
Let’s start with the truth. You need better questions. Most people aren’t looking for answers. They’re looking for permission to trust what they already know. That’s what therapy often provides. Not instruction. Not solutions. Just the space to surface what’s already buried inside. Therapists ask good questions. They guide you through the fog, help you…
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The Illusion of ChatGPT Therapy and Coaching
We are outsourcing our inner voice. People are turning to ChatGPT not just for ideas or clarity but for therapy, coaching, and even emotional regulation. It sounds smart.It responds fast.It never judges.It always “listens.” And that’s precisely why it’s dangerous. Not because it says the wrong things.But because it says the right things too easily.…
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Truth Doesn’t Sell. Identity Does.
Let’s begin with a hard truth most businesses ignore: People don’t care about the truth. Not in the way you think. They don’t buy because you’re correct.They buy because it feels right to them.To who they are. Or who they want to be. This is the core insight behind the Nietzsche Thesis: We don’t pursue…
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Consider Superman
Before the World Believes in You, You Have to Know Who You Are Superman could fly. He could bend steel. He could see through walls. But in Man of Steel, none of that mattered, because he was lost. He wandered. Reacted. Hid. Power without identity is just noise. Strength without purpose is confusion. Clark didn’t…
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Why Ford Can’t Simply Copy Tesla
This positioning analysis explores a common question among CEOs and founders: “What happens if a competitor copies our positioning?” Let’s unpack this by analyzing Ford’s situation with Tesla. Positioning Isn’t Marketing, It’s Strategic DNA Tesla doesn’t just market electric vehicles (EVs); Tesla fundamentally owns the concept of the future. Elon Musk embedded this positioning into…
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What if Someone Copies Your Positioning?
It’s a question I regularly hear from leaders and marketers: “What if competitors copy our positioning?” Good question. Essential, even. But let’s start by challenging an underlying assumption: If your positioning can easily be copied, you’re probably confusing messaging with positioning. Messaging vs. Positioning Messaging is surface-level. It’s your brand’s clothing, easy to change, easy…
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The Positioning Pull and Push Method
Ever notice how some positioning exercises energize your team, while others feel like pulling teeth? It’s because there are two fundamentally different approaches to positioning: The Push Method The Push method treats positioning as something external, something done to a company. Consultants parachute in, armed with frameworks, terminology, and complicated jargon. It’s impressive. It’s thorough.…
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