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𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆. They’re designed around the direct customer. But value is usually judged somewhere else: your customer’s customer. The person or business your customer has to win. Do this instead: 1️⃣ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 What problems are they trying to solve? What pressures, trade-offs, or expectations shape their decisions? 2️⃣ 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼

Demand creation can build a category. I’ve seen a $30M business collapse because a “must-have feature” solved a problem customers didn’t actually have. The feature was funded. It was marketed. Internally, it became a strategic pillar. Customers didn’t want it. The category thesis collapsed. With it, a $30M business that never recovered. Not because execution was bad but because judgment was wrong. 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗯: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼�

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 — 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲. I’m always surprised by how many companies — from early-stage startups to sizable B2B firms, especially in tech — neglect how they present themselves externally. Elevator pitch? Missing or muddled. Website? One or two generations behind. Positioning? Generic and forgettable. Visual identity? Treated as an afterthought. This isn’t cosmetic. It’s a market signal

When products are randomly positioned, they all point in different directions — creating confusion and misalignment. Fortunately, you can fix this by progressing through three phases: 𝟭. 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺 (𝗕𝗮𝗱) : products operate as silos, each chasing attention on their own. 𝟮. 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 (𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿) : products begin to connect, with ecosystem synergies emerging. 𝟯. 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 (𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁) : every product reinforces a unified portfolio strategy, anchored i

The tech is solid. But what reaches the market is… a blur. 👉 Features, products, and solutions get mixed up. Messaging is vague. Customers don’t get it. The real issue? There’s no clear Offer Architecture. We see this at every stage — from early-stage scaleups to $500M+ firms. Without structure, GTM becomes guesswork. Here’s how the layers should actually work: ▶ 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 (𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗣) — Underlying science or tech: precise, credible, and engineering-led. ▶ 𝗙𝗲

𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 “𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁” 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗼-𝘁𝗼-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. In most cases, the reason is simple — teams work in silos, or the structure itself isn’t fully aligned. They pour energy into launches — ads, campaigns, pipeline targets — and wonder later why traction doesn’t compound. But the problem rarely lives at

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁? NODE just published a piece we’ve been shaping for a while. It started with a question: 👉 What does it mean when people and AI truly collaborate inside an organization — not as tools and users, but as partners in structure, learning, and leadership? This article explores the rise of the hybrid organization: • Where AI agents hold roles. • Where reporting chains go both ways. • And where

🚫 The illusion (still alive in too many companies): A straight line → 3 years out. Analyze → decide → commit. Looks great on slides. Collapses in reality. I learned this the hard way. In hardware, we planned in fixed lines. In software, I saw what agility really means — resets, short cycles, constant adaptation. It’s a game changer if you can organize your company (or your GTM system) around it. ⚡ The reality: markets shift, goals reset, GTM bets expire. ✅ The shift leaders

Different objectives. Different incentives. Different time horizons. I’ve been on both sides — and here’s the honest tension: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: Too academic. Too polished. Too theoretical. Corporate operators insulated from quota pressure. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀: Too tactical. Too reactive. Too “just selling” — whether it’s bananas or enterprise software — without understanding the system around it. But there are 𝟯 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹

These caricatures are still alive inside too many companies. And they’re both wrong. When Marketing is framed as 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘵, you miss its real roles: • 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 → the narrative that positions a company in its market. • 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → the bridge that turns complexity into clarity. • 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 → the dialogue that keeps customers close • 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀�