Arguments and outcomes

If you can bring someone belonging, connection, peace of mind, status, or one of the other most desired emotions, you’ve done something worthwhile. The thing you sell is simply a road to achieve those emotions, and we let everyone down when we focus on the tactics, not the outcomes. Who’s it for and what’s it for are the two questions that guide a

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Each of us assigns different values to different things and our behaviors follow accordingly. This is one of the major reasons why it is nearly impossible to “convince” someone of the value of your products or ideas based on rational arguments and tangible benefits. It’s the ol’ Ferrari and Honda Odyssey debate again. Designer jean companies (or my

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A traffic jam is often the first sign that some strategy is reaching its expiration date. Early on, a successful strategy has few proponents because the strategy isn't successful yet . There are few people on the highway because there is no way to know yet whether that highway is going to get you where you want to go.

But as it becomes more apparent... See more

It’s humbling to realize that we have very little control over the will of the people we seek to serve. Just like you can’t make a tornado with a $35 desk fan, you can’t create demand. This is one of the hard lessons the bro marketers and category creationists don’t tell you.

Your goal is to position in a category that’s in demand and that your segm... See more