This is the most important question. Most brands get it wrong. They believe they are in the technology business. They are not. The Piano In the 19th century, piano makers sold ornate wooden boxes with keys. They sold wires and hammers. They sold craftsmanship. Steinway did not. Steinway sold access to the artist within. The technology, the box, the keys, was the same. But the promise was different. One sold an instrument. The other sold immortality. The Two Paths 1. The Techn

Pause... Are you used to talking about strengths?  About advantages and product benefits?. But the "naive" belief? That is where the real work is. It is the belief you hold that makes other people in your industry smile. They think you are a fool. Or a romantic. Or just plain wrong. This belief is your leverage. Or your anchor. You must decide. The Watchmakers In the early 2010s, the Swiss watch industry was at its peak. They argued about heritage, mechanical movements, and c

The Roman Trap, Foundation or Fortress? Think about the Romans. They built the greatest roads in the world. Those roads let them conquer that world. For centuries, they maintained the roads. The roads were their strength. The roads were  Rome. Then the world changed. The future was not on land. It was on the sea. The future required ships. Rome kept its loyalty to the roads. They knew roads. They trusted roads. Their identity was tied to the roads. That loyalty was a trap. It

Every company has a story it tells the world, and another story it lives quietly behind the scenes. The paradox lies in the space between the two. This question, “What are we the best in the world at, that our customers don’t even know we do?”  forces leaders to look beneath the surface of their own success. Because often, your greatest advantage isn’t what’s visible. It’s what’s invisible, the systems, mindsets, or methods that make visible success possible. When you ask thi

It’s a confronting question. But the most valuable ones usually are. If the thing that keeps your lights on, your “cash cow”, vanished overnight, would your organisation still have a reason to exist? Would your people still come to work with a sense of purpose? Would your brand still stand for something that matters? This is the tension between product  and purpose . Between what you sell and why you exist. Think about Google . If regulators banned all advertising tomorrow, S