Filling the gaps
Filling a gap is simpler than filling a fit. With a gap, you’re free to take the space in any way possible. A square takes a square space in an open gap. With a fit, you need to mold yourself INTO the fit. A square trying to fit into a circle gap? Kinda weird… Mind The Gap Choosing to fill a gap can have you take and fulfill an unmet need and fill it in an unfit/unconventional way. A game with your rules. Better context modeling. A smarter way to play. Not dictated by the rest. The extra…
Minding The Gap
To find a Product-Market Fit means you must fit into what’s already there. What will fit into the market?Only what’s known to fit. Nothing too different. Safe. You need to mold (fit) your product or offering to what’s in the market. A continuum of What Is. The focus is on what you offer, meaning “How could I fit my product into the market so it (the product) competes?” In a market where everything feels the same, what’s the tie-breaker? Price. When your customer doesn’t know how to compare…
The gap
It’s like diving a new site. You won’t know exactly what you’ll see, but have a rough idea. You know you’ll be underwater —that’s a good start. ???? You know what’s the water temperature on surface, and can guesstimate what it’ll be as you go deeper. So you prepare accordingly. A wetsuit, a drysuit or just a rashguard. You know you might encounter currents and surges. You’re aware of what changes happen. You know how long you can stay below water, depending on your equipment and depth. What you…
You’re not ready
You can have tools data, info, strategy, actions, plans and yet, not move forward. Stay still. How so? I mean, you’ve got it all ready to go, right? One answer that keeps coming in conversation about launching, creating and mindset is “I’m just not ready”. Ready as in ready to do what it takes, to act on it and just jump on. The backbone of it is mindset – and not in the wishy-washy, woo-woo ways you must be so familiar with (self-help and all that fluffy stuff). Mindset, as I’m learning, is…
Pricing different
Going into a product-market gap allows you to play a different game from the rest. One thing you can start playing with is Pricing. In a product-market fit “This is how everybody else prices” (eg. costplus) “These are the prices.” Makes you think:How can i make my price “fit” into this place and still make a profit (????) or make it attractive for me to keep at it? WTF [Where’s The Focus] → Yourself In a product-market gap “This is how everybody else prices” (ceg. cost+) “These are the prices”….
Buying clothes
When you’re buying clothes, you need to fit into the clothes. When you don’t, you don’t buy them. And if you do buy them, you’ll feel funny at some point. Like it’s not quite the right thing for you. Same thing happens trying to fit a product into a market. You might get it, but in the long run, odds are you’ll feel funny. You don’t need to fit in when you can stand out.
The Flip. Ep.1. Purpose
Forget about mission and vision statements —they’re useless in this context. This is not a marketing / branding exercise and definitely NOT aspirational (there’s a HUGE difference between aspirational and inspirational, but that’s for another email). It’s who you are and what you stand for. I’m taking you’re in the business of helping people get what they want. If not, that’s ok too. But maybe this is not the kind of email you want to read. Purpose Actionable, yet fuzzy. It’s the thing that…
The Flip. p3. Alignment
What are the right filters for you to shine doing what you do? The way you can make this feel right is analyzing through your inventory and the narrative that propels you… when did you do your best work when did you create a greater impact for your clients when did you knew in your gut things could go south (red flags everywhere) and chose to ignore the signs The goal of alignment is to enable Trust, so that: Things that are said will be done get done. Fosters and sustains innovation in the…
Snorkeling or diving?
You’re in the Caribbean and have two options: snorkeling or diving. Which one would you choose? You snorkel Don’t need quite a lot of equipment: usually just your snorkel and fins. You stay on the surface, need lots of sun protection (your back will be under the sun for a loooong time), it’s fun, can’t really explore for longer what you see below (a starfish, an angel fish, coral…) It’s somehow easier to have a sense of orientation: stick your face off the water and look for landmarks. You…
The Flip. p2. Narrative
It’s the thread of what you do and what overarching story it tells. It’s a sustained arc about how you show up, what you do from a high altitude view and how you frame the world: on opportunities or threats. John Hagel has studied the power of narratives and how they’re different from stories. Stories are: about the individual: you, me, someone imaginary self-contained: have a beginning, middle, end focusing on one point (hence, the moral of the story) Narratives are: about the audience: they…