Avoid a fixed allocation of resources between core products and new initiatives. Instead, treat the investment mix as "seasonal." Periodically and purposefully reassess the balance based on the most pressing business needs—whether it's stabilizing the core for large customers or pushing aggressively into new markets for growth.

The tension between growth and profitability is best resolved by understanding your product's "runway" (be it 6 months or 6 years). This single piece of information, often misaligned between teams and leadership, should dictate your strategic focus. The key task is to uncover this true runway.

Intentionally scaling back your primary business and revenue targets creates the space necessary for creative exploration. This can lead to discovering more scalable and profitable opportunities that ultimately generate far greater success than the original, high-effort path.

This framework provides a structured approach to planning by answering five questions: What's our aspiration? Where will we play (ICP)? How will we win (pillars)? What capabilities do we need? And what management systems (budget, headcount) are required?

To build a successful product, prioritize roadmap capacity using the "50/40/10" rule: 50% for "low delight" (essential functionality), 40% for "deep delight" (blending function and emotion), and only 10% for "surface delight" (aesthetic touches). This structure ensures a solid base while strategically investing in differentiation.

Most entrepreneurs mistakenly spend 80% of their time creating content and only 20% on distribution. To maximize impact, flip this ratio. Spend 20% of your time on high-value creation and 80% on strategic promotion to ensure your work actually gets found by the right audience.

Shift the mindset from a brand vs. performance dichotomy. All marketing should be measured for performance. For brand initiatives, use metrics like branded search volume per dollar spent to quantify impact and tie "fluffy" activities to tangible growth outcomes.

By enforcing a strict budget cap on any single commercial, Liquid Death operates a 'small bets' strategy. This minimizes the financial risk of any one piece of content flopping and allows for a higher volume of creative outputs, ensuring the ROI is massive when a video succeeds.

To ensure continuous experimentation, Coastline's marketing head allocates a specific "failure budget" for high-risk initiatives. The philosophy is that most experiments won't work, but the few that do will generate enough value to cover all losses and open up crucial new marketing channels.