The won’t sell trap

“It won’t sell” sounds like a fact. It’s usually a guess wearing a suit. Nobody has access to the future. Not the founder who built it, not the investor who passed, not the sales rep who pitched it once and got quiet on the other end of the...

The cost of blending in

We assume differentiation is a marketing problem. Find the right slogan, run the right campaign, and the crowd will notice us. Seth Godin’s Purple Cow argues the opposite. By the time we’re writing the ad, it’s already too late. A brown cow standing...

For thee, not me

We ask for authenticity like it’s free. Show up as yourself, we say. Be real. Bring your whole self to the table. Then someone does it. They disagree in the meeting. They admit the plan is broken. They say the thing everyone was thinking. Suddenly authenticity...

Arriving without a map

We used to study the map before we moved. We traced the route, noted the landmarks, built a picture of the territory before we ever left the driveway. Getting there meant understanding where “there” was, and the nuances of the route. Now we take...

The door left open

We hear it more than we notice it. Someone says we’re ready. That we have potential. That they believe in us. We say thank you. We move on. That’s the mistake. A compliment closes a loop. An invitation opens one, and we keep confusing the two. When a...