Be Less Shit
The Part Of The Strategy No One Says Out Loud
Scenario: Strategy meeting.
It’s the quarterly presentation.
Everyone is showing slides in the standard format:
– White background
– Stock photos of diverse people smiling
– Bullet points like: “Synergize Q3 onboarding pathways”
Then comes the fracture.
Slide 1. Black background. Serif font.
“We are getting thrashed by our competitors.”
The room stiffens. Someone coughs.
Slide 2 loads:
“Be Less Shit.”
Silence.
You wait a beat, then say:
“We don’t have a marketing problem.
We have a value clarity problem -
and we’re paying agencies to help us hide it.”
One exec smiles, tightly.
Another reaches for their pen, not to take notes - just to look busy.
Everyone here knows it’s true.
But the game has been to pretend we’re optimising, not admit we’re avoiding.
The Legacy Model
Marketing = megaphone.
You’ve built something good. You just need more people to see it.
So you optimise the funnel.
Tweak the call to action.
A/B test into infinity.
The graphs go up.
And to the right.
And off a cliff.
The Quiet Fracture
You’re not losing because of your ads.
You’re losing because your competitors are better.
Better offer.
Clearer message.
Fewer layers between pain and solution.
They’re not cleverer.
They’re just louder about what is real.
You’re whispering jargon into a hurricane.
(pause)
That’s not strategy.
That’s brand erosion.
How We Know This Is True
1. Gut Check.
Would you switch to your own product if you weren’t already committed?
No? End of the marketing meeting, really.
2. Historical Pattern.
Every company that tried to outmarket its own decay eventually collapsed.
Look at Yahoo. At WeWork. At Theranos. At Blackberry. At Juicero.
3. Performance Theatre Audit.
What happens when someone on your team says,
“This just isn’t that good”?
If they’re sidelined, ghosted, or ignored -
you’re not running a strategy.
You’re running a comedy of errors.
4. Funnel Dislocation.
Clicks are up. Retention is flat.
Attribution says “success.”
Your instinct says otherwise.
Now the customer feels it, too.
The Narrative Drift
Marketing didn’t break.
But we all saw it drift.
2005: Marketing was a megaphone
- “We just need more reach.”2015: Marketing became a mask
- “Stories are powerful! Stories are good! Do we have one?”2025: Marketing is now a mirage
- “Let’s buy the illusion of traction.”
Marketing used to reveal value.
Now it’s often used to disguise its absence.
That’s the fracture.
What Actually Works
You already know.
But here it is - in writing:
Study your top 3 competitors
Beat them at what actually matters. You probably already know what actually matters, but do you say it out loud?
Say it clearly
Say it louder
Say it again - until someone switches
No funnel hack will save you from Step 1.
And no budget should exist until Step 1 is complete.
The Volume Trap
Ten years ago, content was the strategy.
“Content is king.”
“Post every day.”
“Be consistent and the algorithm will reward you.”
And it worked:
Blogs drove real traffic
Podcasts built loyal followings
SEO returned compound interest
Back then, being loud meant reach.
And reach could build trust.
Now? It’s 2025.
Everyone’s loud.
E.v.e.r.y.o.n.e
Your kids friends on TikTok are probably louder than your company
Content is infinite.
Posts are free.
AI can generate 100 articles before you’ve finish reading this - and they all sound... fine.
What used to be signal is now saturation.
What used to feel authentic now feels templated.
The same tactics that once built trust now trigger suspicion.
What Cuts Through Now?
Being believed.
Which means:
Proof over polish
Clarity over cleverness
Presence over volume
Not just posting more.
But sounding like someone who actually does the work.
If your content doesn’t carry credibility,
then being louder just speeds up the decay.
The Adjusted Formula
Still true:
Be less shit. Then be loud.
But now with a clause:
Be loud in a way that holds up if all the channels fell silent.
If the mic cuts out, does your offer still land?
Why This Memo Exists
This isn’t a strategy.
It’s a mirror.
You can keep polishing the funnel.
Or you can fix what it’s pointing to.
Be less shit.
Then be loud.
But make it real - or don’t make it at all.
Final Slide
Black background. Bottom-right corner. Small serif font:
Written by someone who’s been in the room, felt the drift, and cares enough to name it.
If this annoyed you, it probably wasn’t for you.
If this made you relieved, let’s talk. I can identify where your offer, story, or product has drifted from reality.