a single source, nothing corroborates it
Cut any claim whose opposite nobody would pick
Test each positioning line by asking whether a real company could succeed doing the reverse. Being open source passes because closed businesses thrive, while putting customers first fails because nobody runs the alternative, and a line that fails the test is filler. The vocabulary of disruption fails it too, since it describes nothing a buyer can act on.
The method
- 01
Test a positioning claim by asking whether its opposite is also a workable choice: if no successful company would ever choose the reverse, you have not said anything.
- 02
Drop the word disruptive from your pitch and describe something useful and enjoyable that people will pay for instead.
What it returned
Choosing to be open source passes, because closed-source companies thrive; claiming to put customers first fails, because nobody runs a customer-last strategy.
He says a part of him dies when a founder raising money leads with having something disruptive.
Sources
- Not disruptive, and proud of itJason Cohen · longform.asmartbear.com · Not disruptive, and proud of it · 2010-04-12
- What makes a strategy greatJason Cohen · longform.asmartbear.com · Decisive · 2023-08-13
the second source
Three plays a week, for the phase you are in
No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.
More in copy
- Keep the personality that drives some people off7 unconnected
- Interview buyers and write the page in their sentences6 unconnected
- Re-aim one durable claim at today's worry5 unconnected
- Answer the predictable objection with a specific4 unconnected
- Say the thing only you could have said4 unconnected
- Tighten the headline until only your segment fits4 unconnected