Marketers over-index on crafting the perfect positioning framework. The real work is in collaborating with sales and demand gen to ensure the messaging is understood, tested, and consistently used across the company.

Move beyond annual reviews by implementing a structured competency model for bi-monthly, one-hour check-ins. This practice removes ambiguity from feedback, makes it conversational and actionable, and creates a continuous, transparent growth loop.

Unlike sales-led companies that get feedback from sales calls, PLG companies are blind to their competitive positioning without formal research. You must conduct jobs-to-be-done interviews to uncover why customers chose you over alternatives, as relying on internal assumptions or simple "what do you love" surveys is misleading.

The rapid pace of change, driven by AI and economic volatility, requires strategy to be a continuous assessment process, not a periodic quarterly or annual review. This shift builds strategic resilience by allowing for faster stress-testing of assumptions and adaptation to market demands.

In a dynamic market, an annual pricing review is too slow and leaves money on the table. A product-led pricing committee should convene quarterly to evaluate market conditions, competitor moves, and customer value perception, enabling more agile adjustments.

Do not confuse positioning with product strategy. Strategy is the multi-year plan for what to build. Positioning is a tactical exercise to win against current competitors with the product you have right now. Positioning evolves as your strategy progresses.

Instead of debating whether Product Management or Product Marketing "owns" positioning, teams should treat it as a critical point of shared alignment. It's a collaborative space where the entire team agrees on the product's value and market strategy.

In a fast-changing environment, annual plans are obsolete. At least semi-annually, pause and ask, "If we were to create this plan from scratch today, what would we do differently?" This mindset prevents teams from blindly executing on outdated assumptions tied to performance plans.

To navigate a volatile world, Rivian's CEO cultivates 'comfort in chaos.' A key tactic is a formal process where the leadership team regularly re-evaluates their core assumptions. They ask, 'The thing we thought six months ago, is that still right?' This ensures the company adapts to rapid changes instead of operating on outdated beliefs.