The smallest visible flaw sets the ceiling on how buyers judge everything else about your brand. This is the ketchup principle, the psychology underneath it, and how to make it work for you instead of against you.
Tag: Power Positioning
What a Fractional Executive Actually Does, and When You Need One
A fractional executive is a senior leader who owns one part of your revenue system part-time, on retainer, and stays accountable for the outcome. Most companies hire the title they think they need (a CMO, a CRO, a CSO, a CGO) when the real seam that is broken sits somewhere else in the system. The role you need is an output of the diagnosis, not the input. Hire the seat after you find the leak, not before. The work I do first with every company is the diagnosis, and the seat we land on is often not the one they called about.
How EAT 2.0 Builds Authority That AI Cannot Flatten
Google’s EAT 1.0 was the four signals the algorithm could measure: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. The problem in 2026 is that AI passes the surface test. EAT 2.0 stacks the human layer the framework was never asked to measure. Empathy, Authenticity, Transparency. These three are what authority now compounds on, and they are the move AI cannot imitate.
Why Most Revenue Architecture Is Just Plumbing
Most “revenue architecture” sold today is plumbing, such as pipeline mechanics, attribution, dashboards. But the real architecture is upstream, where positioning lives.
The Three-Lens Diagnostic I Use Before I Try to Reposition a Market
Most repositioning fails because the diagnosis was partial. Here is the three-lens method I run as a fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) before I reposition a market.
The Diagnostic Skill That Separates Strategic Hires from Expensive Ones
Most consultants start with solutions. The best fractional executives start by reading the business through three diagnostic lenses before they prescribe anything.
Which Pricing Model Is Best? Input, Output, or Outcome-Based
The way a consultant prices their work reveals how they think about value, risk, and results. Here’s what each model means for the buyer and which one produces the best outcomes.