bigslick-strategy

Create uncontested market space using value innovation instead of competing head-to-head. Use when the user mentions "blue ocean", "red ocean", "strategy canvas", "ERRC framework", "value innovation", "non-customers", "buyer utility map", "the market is too crowded", "how do we stand out", or "escape the price war". Also trigger when exploring a new market category, or finding underserved or non-customers. Covers the Four Actions Framework, Six Paths, buyer utility map, and value-cost trade-offs. For real strategy formulation and bad-strategy detection, see good-strategy-bad-strategy. For tech adoption strategy, see crossing-the-chasm. For product positioning, see obviously-awesome.

Apply pre-composed aesthetic archetype defaults to jumpstart brand design work covering color, typography, layout, voice, and imagery direction. Use this skill whenever the user wants a starting point for brand visual and verbal direction, references a brand they want to design near (for example 'something like Stripe' or 'editorial like Linear'), needs to converge faster from many directions to one, or wants known-good defaults for a specific industry vertical. Triggers on archetype, design archetype, brand archetype, near to (brand), in the style of, similar aesthetic, design starting point, brand template, vertical-typical, industry-typical. Also triggers when the user has a brief and wants to map it to a known aesthetic family rather than design from first principles.

Run upstream brand discovery covering audience research, competitive landscape, category dynamics, problem space, and positioning territory exploration. Use this skill at the very start of a brand or website project when the user needs to understand who they're for, who they compete with, what the audience actually needs, and where the brand could plausibly stand. Triggers on brand discovery, audience research, market research, competitive scan, category research, customer research, who is this for, who are we, positioning research, intake, kickoff. Also triggers when a creative brief is requested but the upstream inputs (audience, competitors, problem space) are not yet clear.

Brand monitoring and mention tracking via the Brand.dev API. Use when asked to monitor brand mentions, track sentiment, find PR opportunities, detect logo usage, or analyze brand presence online. Trigger phrases: "brand monitoring", "mention tracking", "brand sentiment", "PR opportunities", "logo detection", "brand.dev", "brand mentions", "media monitoring".

Build or audit a comprehensive brand style guide that documents the full brand system including story, logo system, color, typography, imagery, voice, applications, and dos/don'ts. Use this skill whenever the user wants to create brand guidelines, document an existing brand, build a brand book, audit an existing style guide for completeness, or produce the artifact that other teams will reference for years. Triggers on style guide, brand guidelines, brand book, brand standards, brand manual, style sheet, brand documentation, brand reference. Also triggers when the brand identity is finished and needs to be documented for handoff to designers, developers, vendors, or future team members.

Analyze a company's published content to extract their brand voice, writing style, and tone guidelines. Reads 10-20 of their best content pieces and produces a brand voice profile covering tone, vocabulary level, sentence structure, formatting patterns, CTAs, and target persona. Useful before writing outreach, content, or campaigns that should match a client's existing voice.

Start and scale networked products using Andrew Chen's "The Cold Start Problem" framework for network effects. Use when the user mentions "network effects", "chicken and egg", "cold start", "two-sided marketplace", "atomic network", "hard side", "liquidity", "critical mass", "invite-only launch", "how do I get my first users", or "the marketplace has no buyers or sellers". Also trigger when launching a marketplace, social, or collaboration product that is worthless without other users, deciding launch sequencing and seeding tactics, or diagnosing stalled network growth at scale. Covers the five stages: cold start, tipping point, escape velocity, hitting the ceiling, and the moat. For word-of-mouth virality, see contagious. For habit-driven retention, see hooked-ux.

Engineer word-of-mouth and virality using the STEPPS framework (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories). Use when the user mentions "go viral", "word of mouth", "shareable content", "social currency", "why people share", "referral program", "nobody is sharing it", or "make this spread". Also trigger when designing shareable features, crafting social campaigns, or building products that spread through peer recommendation. Covers environmental triggers and high-arousal emotional content. For sticky messaging, see made-to-stick. For persuasion tactics, see influence-psychology.

Build a weekly cadence of customer touchpoints using Opportunity Solution Trees, assumption mapping, and interview snapshots. Use when the user mentions "continuous discovery", "opportunity solution tree", "weekly interviews", "assumption testing", "discovery habits", "product trio", "outcome-based roadmap", "how do I talk to customers regularly", "we keep building things nobody uses", or "connect research to the roadmap". Also trigger when setting up regular customer feedback loops, prioritizing which experiments to run, or tying discovery insights to delivery work. Covers experience mapping, co-creation, and prioritizing opportunities. For interview technique, see mom-test. For team structure, see inspired-product.

Navigate the technology adoption lifecycle from early adopters to mainstream market. Use when the user mentions "crossing the chasm", "beachhead segment", "whole product", "early adopters vs mainstream", "tech go-to-market", "bowling pin strategy", "technology adoption lifecycle", "pragmatist buyers", "growth stalled after early adopters", or "our go-to-market plan". Also trigger when planning go-to-market for a technical product. Covers the D-Day analogy, bowling-pin strategy, the tornado, and positioning against incumbents. For product positioning, see obviously-awesome. For new market creation, see blue-ocean-strategy.

When the user wants to plan product distribution via marketplaces, app stores, or third-party platforms. Also use when the user mentions "distribution channels," "marketplace listing," "app store listing," "Figma plugin," "Chrome extension marketplace," "AWS Marketplace," "Shopify app," "GPTs store," "app distribution," or "third-party marketplace." For channel mix, use integrated-marketing.

Formulate and audit real strategy using Richard Rumelt's "Good Strategy Bad Strategy": an honest diagnosis, a guiding policy, and coherent action instead of goals, vision, and wishful thinking. Use when the user mentions "good strategy bad strategy", "strategy kernel", "diagnosis guiding policy coherent action", "our strategy is just goals", "strategic planning", "mission vs strategy", "annual plan", or "is this actually a strategy". Also trigger when auditing a strategy doc or pitch deck for fluff, turning a goal list into real strategy, formulating strategy for a product or company, or finding leverage and proximate objectives. Covers the kernel of strategy, bad-strategy detection, and sources of power. For product positioning, see obviously-awesome. For uncontested markets, see blue-ocean-strategy.

When the user wants to plan growth using the AARRR framework, diagnose growth bottlenecks, or map actions across the customer lifecycle. Also use when the user mentions "growth funnel," "AARRR," "pirate metrics," "acquisition activation retention," "customer lifecycle metrics," or "growth framework." For retention tactics, use retention-strategy.

Manage for output using Grove's "High Output Management": a manager's output is their organization's output, raised by high-leverage activities. Use when the user mentions "high output management", "managerial leverage", "one-on-ones", "1:1 agenda", "OKRs", "performance review", "task-relevant maturity", "delegation", "meeting overload", "new manager", "how do I run a 1:1", or "just got promoted to manager". Also trigger when structuring a manager's calendar and meeting cadence, designing team metrics, running planning, coaching delegation, or preparing performance reviews. Covers leverage, production principles, meetings as the medium of management, decisions, OKRs, and task-relevant maturity. For intrinsic motivation, see drive-motivation. For a company operating system, see traction-eos.

Design habit-forming product loops using the Hook Model (Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, Investment). Use when the user mentions "users arent coming back", "habit formation", "engagement loops", "habit zone", or "the manipulation matrix". Also trigger when designing notification or re-engagement strategies, building streaks or progress systems, or analyzing why users stop after signup. Covers ethics evaluation and onboarding for habits. For friction reduction and B=MAP, see improve-retention. For viral sharing, see contagious.

Apply the seven principles of ethical persuasion (reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity, unity) to product design, copy, and sales. Use when the user mentions "social proof", "persuasive copy", "why users dont convert", "ethical persuasion", "reciprocity", "scarcity tactics", "commitment and consistency", "shared identity", "in-group", "make my copy more persuasive", "increase trust", or "get more people to say yes". Also trigger when designing testimonial sections, crafting urgency messaging, or improving trust signals on landing pages. Covers the principles, when each applies, and ethical limits. For deal negotiation tactics, see negotiation. For viral word-of-mouth, see contagious.

Build empowered product teams using discovery and delivery dual-track. Use when the user mentions "product discovery", "empowered teams", "feature factory", "opportunity assessment", "product vision", "product strategy", "what should we build", or "our roadmap is just a feature list". Also trigger when restructuring teams away from output-driven models, or deciding what to build next based on outcomes. Covers discovery techniques, team structure, opportunity assessment, vision/strategy, and continuous delivery. For customer interviews, see mom-test. For ongoing discovery systems, see continuous-discovery.

Discover what customers truly need by analyzing the "job" they hire your product to do. Use when the user mentions "customer discovery", "why customers churn", "what job does this solve", "competing against luck", "product-market fit", "switching behavior", "milkshake moment", or "functional vs emotional jobs". Also trigger when investigating why users choose competitors, designing features around real customer needs, or reframing a value proposition. Covers JTBD interviews, competition analysis, and jobs-oriented roadmaps. For product positioning, see obviously-awesome. For rapid validation, see design-sprint. For non-leading interview technique, see mom-test.

The Jobs-to-be-Done framework as applied product methodology. Job statements, struggling moments, hire and fire criteria, the difference between feature-thinking and job-thinking. Honest about where JTBD adds clarity (discovery, prioritization, positioning) and where it becomes performative ritual (job-statement workshops that do not drive decisions, persona-theater disguised as JTBD). Triggers on jobs-to-be-done, JTBD, job statements, struggling moments, hire criteria, fire criteria, switch triggers, functional emotional social jobs, outcome-driven innovation. Also triggers when a team is over-relying on feature-request lists or persona archetypes that do not drive product decisions, when a positioning conversation needs the framing JTBD provides, or when discovery is producing outputs that do not connect to product strategy.

Choose and audit startup metrics using Croll and Yoskovitz's "Lean Analytics". Use when the user mentions "what metrics should we track", "KPIs", "north star metric", "One Metric That Matters (OMTM)", "vanity metrics", "analytics dashboard", "DAU/MAU", "churn benchmark", or "measure product-market fit". Also trigger when choosing metrics for a startup or feature, auditing a dashboard for vanity metrics, setting metric targets and baselines, or instrumenting a product by business model and stage. Covers good-vs-vanity metrics, the One Metric That Matters, metrics by business model, the five startup stages, and benchmarks. For the build-measure-learn loop, see lean-startup. For fixing activation and retention, see improve-retention.

Design MVPs, validated learning experiments, and pivot-or-persevere decisions using Build-Measure-Learn. Use when the user mentions "MVP scope", "validated learning", "pivot or persevere", "vanity metrics", "test assumptions", "innovation accounting", "build-measure-learn", "minimum viable experiment", "should we pivot", "test a business idea cheaply", or "build the smallest version first". Also trigger when deciding what to include in a first version, measuring startup progress, or evaluating whether to change direction on a product bet. Covers innovation accounting and actionable metrics. For 5-day prototype testing, see design-sprint. For customer motivation analysis, see jobs-to-be-done.

Craft messages that are understood, remembered, and drive action using the SUCCESs checklist (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories). Use when the user mentions "make it memorable", "no one remembers our pitch", "tagline", "value proposition", "why the message isnt landing", "curse of knowledge", or "concrete language". Also trigger when writing a pitch deck, simplifying a complex product explanation, or making a presentation more compelling. Covers the six SUCCESs traits and the curse of knowledge. For narrative brand frameworks, see storybrand-messaging. For viral sharing, see contagious.

When the user needs marketing ideas, inspiration, or strategies for their SaaS or software product. Also use when the user asks for 'marketing ideas,' 'growth ideas,' 'how to market,' 'marketing strategies,' 'marketing tactics,' 'ways to promote,' 'ideas to grow,' 'what else can I try,' 'I don't know how to market this,' 'brainstorm marketing,' or 'what marketing should I do.' Use this as a starting point whenever someone is stuck or looking for inspiration on how to grow. For specific channel execution, see the relevant skill (ads, social, emails, etc.).

When the user wants to set up a recurring, self-running marketing workflow — a repeatable loop an AI agent runs on a cadence (weekly, daily, on a trigger) rather than a one-off task. Also use when the user mentions 'marketing loop,' 'recurring marketing workflow,' 'automate my marketing,' 'marketing on autopilot,' 'weekly marketing review,' 'ad fatigue check,' 'content refresh loop,' 'churn watch,' 'ranking drop alert,' 'always-on marketing,' 'marketing automation workflow,' or 'run this every week.' Use this to pick, adapt, and schedule an ongoing marketing loop that orchestrates the other marketing skills. For one-off marketing ideas, see marketing-ideas. For the experimentation loop specifically, see ab-testing.

When the user wants to apply psychological principles, mental models, or behavioral science to marketing. Also use when the user mentions 'psychology,' 'mental models,' 'cognitive bias,' 'persuasion,' 'behavioral science,' 'why people buy,' 'decision-making,' 'consumer behavior,' 'anchoring,' 'social proof,' 'scarcity,' 'loss aversion,' 'framing,' or 'nudge.' Use this whenever someone wants to understand or leverage how people think and make decisions in a marketing context. For applying psychology to specific pages, see cro; for pricing tactics, see pricing; for copy framing, see copywriting.

OKR design as actually shipped, not as conference-talk theory. Outcome statements that drive decisions, key results that measure the right thing, scoring discipline, mid-quarter recalibration, and the difference between sandbagged OKRs (always 100%) and aspirational OKRs (always 30%) and stretch OKRs (genuine ambition with quarterly accountability). Triggers on OKR design, OKR setting, key result design, OKR scoring, mid-quarter recalibration, OKR cascading, outcomes vs outputs, quarterly planning, goal setting. Also triggers when a team's OKRs are always hit and producing no learning, when OKRs are demoralizing because they were set as fantasy, or when the team uses OKR vocabulary but the practice has decayed.

Build a complete marketing plan covering the full customer journey from stranger to raving fan. Use when the user mentions "marketing plan", "marketing strategy", "target market", "USP", "lead nurture", "customer lifetime value", "PVP Index", or "I dont know where to start with marketing". Also trigger when building a marketing plan from scratch, choosing acquisition channels, or designing end-to-end customer-lifecycle campaigns. Covers the PVP Index, channel selection, and advocacy systems. For brand messaging, see storybrand-messaging. For conversion optimization, see cro-methodology.

Build a multi-quarter roadmap from a backlog of ideas, requests, and ongoing initiatives. Use this skill when planning the next quarter, sequencing dependent work, balancing build vs improve vs maintain, or making the case for what NOT to do. Triggers on roadmap, quarterly planning, what should we build next, sequencing, prioritization, OKR planning, capacity planning, what's on the roadmap, plan the year, what to ship next quarter. Also triggers when stakeholders are pulling in different directions and the team needs a defensible plan.

Build quiz and assessment funnels that generate qualified leads at 30-50% conversion. Use when the user mentions "quiz funnel", "scorecard", "lead magnet", "score-based segmentation", or "lead qualification". Also trigger when designing self-assessment tools, building calculators or graders for marketing, or creating personalized result pages that drive conversions. Covers concept hooks, question design, dynamic results by tier, and automated follow-up sequences. For landing page conversion, see cro-methodology. For full marketing plans, see one-page-marketing.

Clarify brand messaging using narrative structure that positions the customer as hero. Use when the user mentions "brand message", "website copy", "elevator pitch", "one-liner", "brand script", "StoryBrand framework", "customer as hero", or "my messaging isnt resonating". Also trigger when rewriting homepage copy, crafting email nurture sequences, or creating consistent messaging across sales and marketing collateral. Covers landing page copy, marketing collateral, and consistent communication. For memorable messaging, see made-to-stick. For product positioning, see obviously-awesome.

Implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to align vision and execution across a company. Use when the user mentions "EOS", "Entrepreneurial Operating System", "V/TO", "quarterly rocks", "Level 10 meetings", "accountability chart", "IDS process", "my company feels chaotic", "we keep having the same problems", or "get the whole team aligned". Also trigger when a growing company needs meeting structure, goal-setting frameworks, or a systematic way to solve recurring organizational issues. Covers the six EOS components: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, Traction. For team motivation design, see drive-motivation. For lean experimentation, see lean-startup.