The most common question I get from business leaders is “How do I know if my marketing is working?”

Last week, I received an email from someone pitching a guest for my podcast Grow Good. The email mentioned my podcast’s name, a recent guest’s name and quote from their episode, and a thematic connection explaining why the recommended guest was a fit.

Octopus Energy entered the UK energy market in 2015 and became the UK’s leading energy supplier with 24% market share just 9 years later.

The challenge so many companies face is: how do you differentiate your message when everyone is saying the same thing?

A few months ago, I drove past a billboard just like this that illustrated one of the most common mistakes I see companies make when communicating differentiators.

This is the first article in a series on differentiation, one of the most important factors influencing why customers choose our product or service over another.  

My goal is to help you become a better thinker, and I’m convinced writing is one of the best ways to do it.

When companies hit a growth inflection—when budgets grow, when referrals are exhausted, when competition increases, when the product portfolio expands—the instinct is to accelerate activity.

A few years ago, Red Bull came to Cincinnati for its Flugtag event. Teams designed and constructed contraptions that launched off a 30-foot platform over water, aspiring to remain airborne as long as possible.

As we enter 2026, we face two somewhat opposing dynamics. On the one hand, there is massive uncertainty – tariffs, political polarization, economic volatility. On the other hand, we have massive opportunity.