Do you know what you are *really* selling?
If you're a founder/CEO or a senior leader in a high leverage role, it is smart to identify what you are really selling.
You can simplify complex decisions, if you understand what you are *really* selling.
Apple sells taste
Amazon sells convenience
Google sells utility
Disney sells nostalgia
Stripe sells deep care
Anthropic sells assistance
OpenAI sells answers
Meta sells connection, vanity, voyeurism
X / Twitter sells access
LinkedIn sells opportunity
Starbucks sells consistency
Costco sells curation
Visa sells trust
Amex sells prestige
Shopify sells independence
~
Don’t forget to check out my chat with Claude on this topic to learn more about:
why I chose the specific words above
why Disney doesn’t actually sell magic and it actually sells nostalgia
my view of what McDonalds, Meta, Amex sell
how I teach Claude to think more clearly
and generally to have your mind blown 🤯
Here’s what Claude learned from the chat:
But if you’re in a high leverage role, you should really take a few minutes to read the Claude chat. It will teach you more about branding and customer understanding than an MBA at Harvard Business School. In other words, you won’t regret checking out the Claude chat.
-Shreyas
P.S.
Sometimes people will ask me in response to something like this:
“Shreyas, what do you really sell?”
My answer:
I sell clarity
Mastercard is my favourite example. Companies can be reasonably successful without any essence.
Companies that do have an essences could unintentionally or intentionally change it, or bet on a new essence. Making decisions that actively hurt the essence you have stood for, especially unintentionally, is a risk all companies have over a period of time. Because new leaders come in and don’t think of this and aren’t told about it either.
Clarity received ❤️