Positioning
Positioning is a decision, not a workshop
Most positioning exercises end with a 40-slide deck and zero changes to the website. Here's what to do instead.
June 18, 2026
Positioning is a decision, not a workshop
Most positioning work fails because it's treated as a deliverable instead of a commitment. Teams run an offsite, fill a canvas, write a deck, and ship nothing.
The shortcut: pick a fight
The fastest way to clarify positioning is to name who you are not for. The audience you reject defines the audience you serve.
Three questions that force a decision
- Who would be miserable using us? Name the segment. Write it on the wall.
- What category are we picking a fight with? Not "everyone else" — one specific incumbent assumption.
- What are we willing to be worse at? If you can't name a tradeoff, you don't have positioning.
Ship the change
Positioning is not real until it changes the home page hero, the sales deck slide 2, and the first sentence of the cold email. If those three things didn't change, you ran a workshop. You did not reposition.