Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Let's start with the basics. What's brand positioning?

• What the market remembers.
• The mental slot you earn versus alternatives.

And positioning isn't something you do in isolation.

• It only exists in contrast.
• It's defined by who you beat and why.

Today I want to share a simple tool you can use for positioning. Scissors. Rock. Paper. A quick lesson on the mistake brands make when they compete. And how to win.

The framework

First is the startup. Scissors.

• Sharp focus.
• One ICP. One edge. One promise.
• Roughly $5M to $10M.

Then Rock beats Scissors with proven systems.

• Durable. Repeatable.
• Roughly $10M to $50M.

Then Paper covers Rock with its sheer mass.

• Suite. Spend. Distribution.
• Roughly $100M+.

So the growth cycle goes: Scissors → Rock → Paper. And when Scissors turns into Rock, or Rock turns into Paper, it enters an unstable state. That transition is where repositioning usually happens.

The common mistake

Here's a common mistake.

• People compete like the stage they want to become.
• That's backwards.

It's tempting to fight battles you're going to lose. This lesson from Marty Neumeier in his book Zag shows you who to focus on when you compete.

Now here's the trap.

• You pick the wrong opponent.
• You copy "up ladder" claims.

Scissors looks at Rock and says:

• "We need systems."
• "We need process."
• "We need enterprise credibility."

Rock looks at Paper and says:

• "We need a bigger suite."
• "More features."
• "More markets."
• "More spend."
• "More brands."
• "More everything."

And that's when they get bland. And the brand stops being a weapon that helps you win.

The rule

Compete down-cycle. Don't beat what you're becoming. Beat what you used to be.

• Scissors beats Paper by being sharper.
• Rock beats Scissors by being more dependable.

So your competitive target is usually behind you in growth stage, not ahead of you. That's the reversal.

The transition is a repositioning moment

And now the part most teams miss. The transition period, the unstable state, isn't a small tweak moment. It's a repositioning moment. Repositioning means you change:

• Who you're for.
• What you're the obvious choice for.
• What proof you lead with.

Not just the tagline.

Because if you don't, you turn brand equity into a liability.

• You scale with the wrong self-story.

And when you do, growth gets expensive.

• CAC up.
• Cycle longer.
• Site conversion down.
• Story gets fuzzy.

Those can be signals your positioning needs a revisit. Don't reposition because it's fun. Reposition because the alternative is drifting into the wrong shape.

Facebook vs TikTok

Now let's make it real with a quick example. Paper doesn't lose to bigger paper. It loses to Scissors.

Facebook vs TikTok. Facebook was a Paper company. It had:

• Groups.
• Marketplace.
• Events.
• Video.
• Ads.
• Messaging.
• Creator tools.
• Pages.
• Communities.
• WhatsApp.

TikTok was Scissors:

• One loop.
• One behavior.
• Instant payoff.

The threat wasn't "better bundle." It was "sharper habit." Facebook wasn't losing to a bigger Facebook. It was losing to a customer's new habit it couldn't copy.

And here's the smart Paper move. It isn't to bolt Scissors features onto the bundle. It's to spin up a separate Scissors brand that can fight sharp.

• Meta bought Instagram and let it stay Instagram.
• Google launched YouTube Shorts as its own surface, not a Facebook-style feed feature.

Paper that tries to grow its own Scissors inside the bundle loses. Paper that acquires or launches a separate sharp brand wins.

If you're Scissors

So if you're Scissors, here's the lesson. Your advantage is not:

• "We're cheaper."
• "We care more."
• "We're like them, but simpler."

Win one job so hard it rewires the customer habit.

Google vs Yahoo

Same thing with Google vs Yahoo. When Google started, they had a narrow focus:

• Search.

Meanwhile, Yahoo was competing on:

• News.
• Finance.
• Dating.
• Weather.
• Various portal tools.
• And search.

They tried to be the whole internet in one place. Google won the search battle so quickly that even Yahoo quietly outsourced search to Google.

If you're under $10M in revenue and you're using words like "platform" or "all-in-one solution," you lose your sharpness. And you're fighting battles you're likely going to lose. And if you lose that focus while scaling, you won't become Rock. You'll just become dull Scissors.

Zoom

Next example. Zoom. Zoom was Scissors beating Paper.

Paper:

• Google and Microsoft suites.
• Plus distribution.

Scissors. Zoom:

• Video calls.
• Fast.
• Frictionless.

When you can't outspend and you can't out-feature, the product has to do the brand work.

Rock beating Scissors

Now the other side of the framework. Rock beating Scissors.

Scissors wins when the customer switches. Rock wins when the customer stops shopping.

• HubSpot beat a swarm of Scissors marketing tools by being the dependable, integrated system for mid-market.
• Shopify beat Scissors DIY store builders by being the commerce platform you could bet your business on.

Neither was the sharpest tool. Both were the safe, repeatable choice. That's the Rock move.

The point

So here's the point. The mistake isn't that you want to grow. The mistake is you start competing like the stage you're trying to become.

• You copy Rock when you're still Scissors.
• You copy Paper when you're still Rock.

And you lose your real advantage before you earn the next one.

A quick way to apply this today

• Pick one edge.
• Delete one "Paper" claim this week.

Ask yourself:

• What are we right now? Scissors, Rock, or Paper?
• Who are we copying? That usually reveals who we're scared of.
• Who can we actually beat if we stay honest about our edge?

Because if you're in the unstable state and you don't reposition on purpose, you end up with the worst combo. Not sharp enough to cut. Not durable enough to crush. Not massive enough to cover. You're just there. And nobody wins from there.