~ find the two axes where you are the extreme

There are two axes, horizontal and vertical. They represent extremes of something that customers care about. They might be safety versus performance, luxury versus bargain, or sustainable versus convenient. The breakthrough is this: Each end of the axis has to be something that a customer might want. Not what you want, what they want. You can’t identify “overpriced” or “poorly designed” as extremes. That’s not positioning—that’s simply trash talking your competition

Bonus: There is usually space to outdo a competitor at what they have chosen to do. You can say that your scarves are more exclusive, expensive, and luxurious than the ones at Hermès, especially if you can back it up. Moving your competition to the center—the catch basin of mediocrity—is a powerful strategy. Most of the time, though, we’re looking for two axes that no one has thought to highlight before.

Your successful competition stands for something. When you choose to stand for something that contrasts with that, they can’t follow you.

📖 This Is Strategy

Created at 2025-06-04, last modified at 2025-08-09.
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