Can Positioning Fix Weak Revenue?
Yes, but only in the right situation. Here's a clean way to think about when to invest in positioning.
Breaking Static
Essays on the logic behind sound strategy.
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Meta's Manifesto Mistake
Zuckerberg’s manifesto isn’t a point of view; it’s a positioning contrivance.
Why I'm Making My IP Open Source
Tools improve when we open them up to public scrutiny.
The Death of Quality
When AI can generate the guise of quality, how can we know real quality work when we see it?
Vertical SaaS vs. Frontier Labs: Partners or Competitors?
Frontier labs can pull value from vertical SaaS platforms through token economics, carve-outs, and front-door strategy. Here's how those work, and the threats they pose.
Where to Find Good Strategy Thinking
If you’re going to work on strategy, set your standards high.
When Belief in the Future is Not Enough
It's great if your team believes it can achieve a lofty goal. But it's never sufficient.
After the Strategic Narrative: What to Build?
A strategic narrative tells you what game you're playing. It doesn't tell you what to build next. Here's the lens Rippling, SpaceX, and Disney use to answer it.
The Case for Risk in Marketing
The CMO and the CFO are often at odds with how they view risk. Here's a mental model that can align them.
When Is the Right Time to Work on Strategy?
Annual and quarterly plans have their place, but waiting until a pre-determined period of time may not be the right approach.
Is Your Team Stuck in the Past?
Seeing the past for what it is gives you control over how it shapes your future.
The Irony of Sora
Why couldn't OpenAI avoid such a dumb strategy in the first place?
When Big Decisions Yield Small Outcomes
Making strategic choices about your business is supposed to be hard.
Your Brand Narrative Is a Waste of Money
At least it will be, if you only focus on the artifact itself.
Speed to Clarity vs. Speed to Execution
Your business will win not from speed to execution alone. Your business will only win from having speed to clarity.
Strategist Beware
The viral report "The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis" looks like smart thinking. But this kind of faux-journalism can quickly derail your strategic thinking.
The Delusion
So you can out-execute competitors. Congratulations. Here's what you're missing.
A Common Enemy: The Threat Facing SaaS and Agentic AI Platforms
They might be competing against each other, but both meta categories also face the threat of losing leverage over their customers.
What The SaaSpocolypse Doomsdayers Overloook
Investors believe SaaS is dead and AI is the new king. But there's a more fundamental question that's being overlooked.
Agentic AI Will Drive Category Collapse: Part 3
Consolidation has already been driving SaaS for the last couple decades. With agentic AI, that's only poised to accelerate the shift away for "best of breed" solutions.
What IBM Can Teach Us About Agentic AI
IBM dominated the era of mainframe computers not by having a better product, but by giving buyers incentives they couldn't turn down. Will the same dynamic play out with agentic AI?