Positioning Ideas

Positioning Ideas

How This Works

positioning-messaging BUILD mode produces one finished, gated positioning statement — that's deliberate, since shipping copy needs a 7-point verification gate behind it. But choosing a direction in the first place is a different job: before committing to one statement, it's often more useful to see 3-5 genuinely different angles side by side, each opening different unclaimed territory, and pick (or blend) one. This skill exists for that moment only — divergent, ungated, disposable brainstorm output. It writes nothing durable and produces no shippable copy on its own. Every option it hands back must be run through positioning-messaging's BUILD mode and its gate before it becomes real positioning copy — this skill explicitly does not replace that gate, it feeds it.

Step 0 — Load brain Section 1 (Product), Section 2 (ICP), and Section 3 (Alternatives & Positioning) — hard-block if Section 3 has fewer than 3 named alternatives including status quo, since divergent positioning options are meaningless without knowing what's actually being differentiated from.

Step 1 — Confirm the target segment (from a recent beachhead-segment or buyer-personas session if one exists, or ask directly).

Step 2 — For each named alternative in Section 3, identify the specific unclaimed territory it leaves open — the thing that alternative structurally can't claim, not a generic "we're better" gap.

Step 3 — Generate 3-5 divergent positioning statement options, each tied to a different alternative's gap, each including a positioning statement, strategic rationale, supporting message, and the specific competitive advantage that makes the claim credible.

Step 4 — Self-check for actual divergence — options that differ only in wording but claim the same territory get collapsed or flagged, not delivered as if they were distinct choices.

Step 5 — Learning Close: log the session to /context/skill-sessions.md, and hand off explicitly to positioning-messaging BUILD mode for whichever option (or blend) gets chosen.

Trigger

• When: Choosing a positioning direction before committing to one, wanting to see multiple angles side by side, exploring what unclaimed territory exists before writing a single finished statement.

• Not for: Producing a finished, gated, shippable positioning statement or full messaging hierarchy → positioning-messaging (pmm-positioning) — run this skill first only if a direction hasn't been chosen yet, then run that skill's BUILD mode on the winner. Auditing an existing live positioning statement → positioning-messaging AUDIT mode. Fanning an already-set positioning into segment/channel copy variants → value-prop-statements (pmm-growth). Raw campaign or channel ideas once positioning is already set → experiment-ideas (pmm-growth). Mapping the alternatives themselves before any positioning work → hs-alternatives-map / brain Section 3.

• Example prompts:

  • "Give me a few positioning angles to choose from"
  • "Brainstorm positioning ideas for [product]"
  • "How else could we position this?"
  • "What unclaimed territory is there before we commit to a statement?"
  • "Positioning options before we lock this in"

Inputs

• Args: Target segment (if not pulled from a recent session), number of options wanted (default 5).
• Defaults: No brain, or Section 3 with fewer than 3 alternatives → hard block, direct to hs-alternatives-map first. Brain exists with 3+ alternatives → load silently.
• Context keys:
  • /foundation/brain.md — read Sections 1, 2, 3. Never written to — this skill produces no durable brain output.
  • /context/skill-sessions.md — check for a recent beachhead-segment or buyer-personas session to pull a real segment instead of asking.

Pre-flight

• Load /foundation/brain.md if it exists — Sections 1, 2, 3, silently.
• Hard block if brain doesn't exist or Section 3 has fewer than 3 named alternatives including status quo: "Positioning options only mean something against real alternatives. Run hs-alternatives-map first to name at least 3, including status quo, then come back."
• If a recent beachhead-segment or buyer-personas session exists, offer its segment instead of asking from scratch.

Steps

Step 1 — Confirm the target segment. State which segment these options are for. Pull from a recent beachhead-segment/buyer-personas session if one exists; otherwise ask directly. Do not proceed on an unnamed or "everyone" segment.

Step 2 — Map unclaimed territory per alternative. For each named alternative in brain Section 3, state the specific thing it structurally can't claim — not "they're worse," but a concrete gap (e.g., "Alternative X is built for enterprise IT buyers and can't credibly claim self-serve simplicity without abandoning its own positioning").

Step 3 — Generate 3-5 divergent options. Default 5 unless the user specifies otherwise. Each option includes:

• Positioning Statement — one sentence, following "the only [category] for [segment] who want [outcome]" shape or equivalent
• Strategic Rationale — why this resonates with the named segment specifically, tied to brain Section 2 (ICP)
• Supporting Message — the 1-2 messages that reinforce this angle
• Competitive Advantage — the specific capability that makes this claim credible, not aspirational

Options must open genuinely different territory from each other — not five phrasings of the same claim.

Step 4 — Self-check for real divergence. Compare every pair of options. If two options claim substantively the same unclaimed territory, collapse them into one or flag the weaker as [REDUNDANT — same territory as Option N] rather than presenting both as if they were real alternatives.

Step 5 — Learning Close. Append a row to /context/skill-sessions.md:

skill: positioning-ideas
session_date: {{date}}
pattern: "{{what surprised you, a recurring redundancy pattern, or
  'none' if nothing notable happened — never skip the row}}"
source: {{surprised/wrong/missing/n.v.t.}}

State explicitly which option (or blend) is strongest, and that the next step is running it through positioning-messaging BUILD mode's 7-point gate before it becomes shippable copy — this skill's output is not itself shippable.

Outputs

• 3-5 divergent positioning statement options (Statement / Rationale / Supporting Message / Competitive Advantage each), delivered in chat only — this skill writes no output file of its own
• Session logged to /context/skill-sessions.md
• An explicit handoff line naming the strongest option(s) and stating they still require positioning-messaging BUILD mode's gate before use
• External side effects: n.v.t.
• Next skill: check next-skill-map.md for "After positioning-ideas" and surface that prompt.

Verification

• Brain Section 3 had 3+ named alternatives including status quo before any option was generated — hard block enforced, not skipped
• Every option has all four required fields
• Every option is tied to a specific named alternative's gap, not a generic differentiation claim
• Redundancy self-check run across all option pairs; redundant options flagged or collapsed, not delivered as false choices
• Handoff explicitly states these are pre-gate options, not finished positioning copy
• Session logged with all four fields, pattern: none written explicitly if nothing notable happened — the row is never skipped

Do Not Use For

• positioning-messaging (pmm-positioning) — when the task is producing one finished, verified, shippable positioning statement or full messaging hierarchy. This skill only produces pre-commitment options; every option still needs BUILD mode's 7-point gate before it ships as real copy.

• value-prop-statements (pmm-growth) — when the task is fanning an already-set, already-gated positioning into segment/channel copy variants, not generating divergent directions before one is chosen.

• experiment-ideas (pmm-growth) — when the task is raw campaign or channel ideas assuming positioning is already set, not positioning direction itself.

• hs-alternatives-map — when named alternatives don't exist yet at all. Run that first; this skill hard-blocks without it.

Operating Rules

1. Load alternatives first, hard block without 3+. Divergent positioning is meaningless without a real competitive set to differentiate from.
2. Every option ties to a specific alternative's gap. A "we're just better" option isn't a real angle — reject it before it's delivered.
3. Divergence is checked, not assumed. Run the redundancy pass every time; don't deliver near-duplicates as if they were real choices.
4. Never present this output as shippable. State explicitly that the winning option still needs positioning-messaging BUILD mode's gate.
5. Write nothing to the brain. Options are disposable brainstorm output; only a gated, chosen positioning earns durability via positioning-messaging.
6. Pull a real segment when available. Check for a recent beachhead-segment/buyer-personas session before asking from scratch.

Quality Gate

Commands

/positioning-options [segment]

Run full flow: confirm segment → map unclaimed territory → generate options → divergence check → handoff.

/more-angles

Generate additional options beyond the initial set, using the same segment and alternatives context already established this session.