I find the four words that change everything. For FILA, it was Italian Sport Couture. For Cirque du Soleil, Artistic Entertainment. For Sony Honda Mobility, Emotionally Intelligent Vehicles. Each one anchored the brand. Clarified the product. Set the course for the Future. Four words can change everything.
What I do
I am a micro-monopoly strategist. That means I figure out the unique space a company can own and map a clear path to owning it.
Most strategy starts with the wrong question: What do we want to be? That is a question about your desires, not about reality. The right question is: How do people actually organize this space in their minds, and where is the territory no one has claimed?
I work from the customer's cognitive architecture, not the industry's self-image. Most companies are positioned by default, filed into a mental category by their customers whether they chose it or not. My job is to surface that structure, find the available territory, and build the case for claiming it. Four words. One direction. Everything downstream becomes inevitable.
Where I've done it
I've done this across everything. Tequila. Cloud computing. Deodorant. Electric vehicles. Sportswear. Entertainment. Protein Bars.
Startups with nothing and global companies with billions.
What I've learned
- Category position is the lot. Brand is the structure. You cannot build your way out of a bad location.
- Most companies are competing on someone else's terms. The game is not to win their game. It is to change the game.
- If you cannot state your strategy in four words, you have not found it yet.
- "Better" is not a strategy. Different is. But not randomly different. Categorically different.
- The map is not the territory. But without the map, you are just wandering.
What people say
Intensely curious. It's my superpower. I get the job done. I break big messes into small, clear steps. I'm the guy you call when you can't see the path to monopolize your space.
I'm in Colorado. I like deep problems, first principles, and snowboarding.
You are at an inflection point. The category is the answer. Let's find it.