14 Comments
User's avatar
Melinda Gipson's avatar

Love this. Great affirmation for us as storytellers. 🫶

Expand full comment
Noora@graani's avatar

OMG that was again amazing text! Thank you Mike!:) We at Graani Software are making revolution in food industry and today we are starting totally new way of " Food Box"-thinking first here in Finland, later all over the Europe. Thank you Mike about the idea" Change how people think, feel and act" This it what we are doing! We help people to eat more healthier. " Back to the roots and no more ultraprosessed "food" anymore that makes people sick". You are our biggest inspiration.

Expand full comment
Vik Chaudhary's avatar

“Checkout without Borders” would be an example of what Mike is talking about.

You deliver consumers food directly from producers.

“Eat more healthier” is not a re-framing - any organic grocery could use that.

Expand full comment
Rich Hopen's avatar

Love it!

My real estate startup idea is met with silence while they (buyers and agents) digest what I’m telling them. They then smile and agree with mission and see the massive opportunity to change the industry.

I recently pivoted away from using chatbots and have been noodling new taglines. Your paper is the perfect guide. Thanks, Mike!

Expand full comment
Rich Hopen's avatar

Also, wondering when to develop the language to install beliefs. Is it an exercise that would following "positioning"?

Expand full comment
Jim Long's avatar

Spot on Mike and stated well! Coining "streaming" in the early 90s was a huge help in Starlight Network's messaging and sales ramp.

Expand full comment
Noticer's avatar

Can we say that a new successfull startup or technology is a NEW PARADIGM?

Expand full comment
Iain S's avatar

This is exactly “write” Mike. From Comparison Trap to Shipping Belief to encoding Distribution. Language encoding is a keystone of the solutioneering narrative for product build sequencing to new market model + adoption-distribution. This is the forming engine of breakthrough startups and what we are do every day as we reframe ie encoding the language. Good stuff.

Expand full comment
Karo (Product with Attitude)'s avatar

This article is excellent.

Expand full comment
Mike Maples's avatar

Thanks Karo! This was one of my favorite posts to write.

Expand full comment
Noam Tenne's avatar

Big fan of the articles and the book. My co‑founder and I are using it to craft our company narrative.

Re: the comparison trap, we’re seeing two frictions:

1) Potential investors drag us into “so you’re like X for Y.” Do you push back directly, or roll with “yes, but”?

2) New language shifts the abstraction, so some people say it’s hard to understand. Is that just a storytelling polish issue, or a signal it needs more time to install? How much emphasis do you put on getting it quickly?

Expand full comment
Farzam's avatar

Very insightful and helpful. Thanks for this!!! Hardest part has been "... and you’ll face confusion, skepticism, and lonely nights wondering if you’re crazy." :) Generally we want out of the box solutions and moonshots, and at the same time are impatient, skeptical and dismissive of things that are out of norm.

Expand full comment
Wole Olugbenle's avatar

It's funny how my natural mode in trying to create and bring ideas into the world does this albiet not perfectly. Makes me curious about the DNA of breakthrough founder. PB is like an MBA for natural CEO. You bring into awareness what l seek to do in a way that will perfect it. I love you MM. I was talking to a potential hire for my startup today and we talked about this concept in fuzzy terms.

Expand full comment
Mike Maples's avatar

Thanks Wole! All the best to you and your team.

Expand full comment