Weapons-Grade Wisdom

They Just Gave Me a Gold Medal for Pissing People Off The Stagnation Assassin Show just won Gold at the 24th Annual American Business Awards. Here’s why that matters — and what the show actually is. Let me start with the news. The Stagnation Assassin Show just won a Gold Stevie® Award at the 24th […] Read More

Proprietary Strategy Framework: The Three Hidden Capacity Killers — Changeover Time, Information Bottlenecks, Organizational Complexity STAGNATION ASSASSIN / CHAPTER 6 / THE INVISIBLE THIEVES THE HIDDEN CAPACITY KILLERS Three thieves operate below traditional metrics — quietly destroying capacity while your dashboards report green. Total damage at one division: $22.4M annually. 01 HIDDEN KILLER CHANGEOVER TIME […] Read More

Proprietary Strategy Framework: The Dispenser Orthodoxy Case Study STAGNATION ASSASSIN / CHAPTER 8 / CASE STUDY THE DISPENSER ORTHODOXY For 30+ years, every side-by-side refrigerator had a dispenser. That’s what premium brands do.” One orthodoxy. Smashed in 20 weeks. $8M Year 1. STAGE 1 THE ORTHODOXY “All premium side-by-side refrigerators need water dispensers.” WHAT THE […] Read More

Proprietary Strategy Framework: The 70% Rule Decision Type Matrix STAGNATION ASSASSIN / CHAPTER 9 / DECISION VELOCITY THE 70% RULE DECISION MATRIX Different decisions require different confidence thresholds. Reversibility × Criticality determines how much certainty you actually need before committing. CRITICALITY CRITICAL NON-CRITICAL TYPE 2 — REVERSIBLE × CRITICAL 70% THE SWEET SPOT Move fast. […] Read More

Proprietary Strategy Framework: The Three Integration Points STAGNATION ASSASSIN / CHAPTER 10 / INTEGRATION THE THREE INTEGRATION POINTS Nine frameworks, isolated, deliver 50% improvement. Three integration points connect them into 200% transformation. Master these — transformation becomes nearly inevitable. 01 INTEGRATION POINT 1 TEAM + ENERGY + FOCUS THE CHAPTERS CH 2 CH 3 CH […] Read More

Proprietary Strategy Framework: The REM Remanufacturing Reveal — Provocateur Case Study STAGNATION ASSASSIN / CASE STUDY / THE PROVOCATEUR’S QUESTION THE REM REMAN REVEAL Everyone in the room knew the unit economics. Nobody had ever asked the question. One provocation reframed the entire business. NEW PRODUCT (DEFAULT) “TRADITIONAL MFG IS WHAT WE DO.” THE PRICE […] Read More

Proprietary Strategy Framework: The $75 Cart End-User Audit — Customer’s Customer Case Study STAGNATION ASSASSIN / CASE STUDY / THE CUSTOMER’S CUSTOMER THE $75 CART THAT COST MILLIONS Retailers thought shopping carts were $75 commodities replaced every 5–7 years. End-user research rewrote the entire category. THE B2B BUYER’S VIEW “It’s a $75 commodity.” WHAT THEY […] Read More

Proprietary Strategy Framework: The Three-Decimal Revolution Case Study STAGNATION ASSASSIN / CASE STUDY / WHERE SHRINKAGE HIDES THE THREE-DECIMAL REVOLUTION Procurement managers measured reliability. We measured the third decimal they never saw. Within 18 months, three-decimal precision became the industry standard. STAGE 1 THE INVISIBLE LEAK WHAT PROCUREMENT SAW “This $4,000 scale reads in two […] Read More

Proprietary Strategy Framework: The 30-Day Rule — The $500K Hesitation Autopsy STAGNATION ASSASSIN / CASE STUDY / THE COST OF WAITING THE $500K MISTAKE Todd knew by Month 2. The team knew by Month 6. Leadership waited until Month 9. The role wasn’t filled until Month 24. This is how one hesitation nearly killed a […] Read More