writing
Field notes on positioning and narrative.
Short, practical posts on specific problems. Each one goes deeper on a topic from the Positioning or Narrative guide.
How to Find Your Narrative: Start Outside Your Industry
The story inside your industry is the one everyone already tells. Here's how to find your narrative by starting outside it.
Why Most Thought Leadership Programs Fail (and What to Build Them On Instead)
More posts and more impressions won't make anyone remember you. Thought leadership works when it's built on a narrative.
How to Manage a Strategic Narrative (and Where to Start)
Managing a narrative sounds overwhelming. Start with three questions, find where the story drifts, and invest in the people who tell it.
How to Write a Strategic Narrative: A Worked Example
One narrative, from first draft to finished paragraph. Three questions, the traps in each, and five tests to check the result.
What Is a Strategic Narrative? (And How It's Different from Positioning and Messaging)
Narrative explains what's happening. Positioning explains where you fit. Here's what a strategic narrative is, and why it comes first.
How to Handle a Product Gap in Competitive Deals (Without Spin)
Reframing a product gap only works when there's a genuine strength behind it. Here's how to tell, how to say it, and what to do when there isn't.
Competitive Positioning and Battlecards Buyers Actually Trust
In a noisy market, the trusted advisor beats the loudest voice. Here's how to build competitive positioning and battlecards on claims buyers can check.
Positioning for the Buying Committee: The Champion vs. the Economic Buyer
The person who loves your product is rarely the person who signs. Here's how to position for the whole buying committee.
How to Test Your Positioning Before You Roll It Out
A position is ready when a seller can defend it through three follow-up questions without a slide. Here's how to test it this week.
Category Creation vs. an Existing Category: How B2B SaaS Companies Should Decide
Most B2B SaaS companies shouldn't create a new category. Here's how to decide, and how to stand out inside the one buyers already use.
Competitive Alternatives: The First Step in B2B SaaS Positioning
Positioning starts with the alternatives buyers weigh, including doing nothing. Here's how to map them before you write any messaging.
Repositioning a Growing SaaS Company: When and How to Change Your Positioning
The positioning that got you here may not get you through the next stage. Here are the signs you’ve outgrown yours, and how to change it without losing the customers and momentum you’ve built.
The Startup Guide to Gartner and Analyst Relations
Analysts shape how buyers see your market long before you’re in a deal. Here’s when a startup should start working with Gartner and other analysts, and how to make those relationships count.
How Do You Position a B2B SaaS Product?
A practical guide to B2B SaaS positioning: how to define your market, understand what customers value, identify meaningful differentiation, and turn it into a clear positioning strategy.
How Do You Differentiate a B2B SaaS Product When Competitors Look the Same?
When every product in your market looks the same, features stop setting you apart. Here’s how to differentiate on your approach and point of view instead, and back it up with proof buyers can check.

