Book an Intelligence Briefing · /briefing 45 minutes · private · with a principal

A briefing.
Not a sales call.

A 45-minute private call with one of the principals. You bring a positioning question worth answering. We come prepared with the public record on your brand and a point of view on where you can defend ground your competitors cannot easily take back.

The briefing is the only way to talk to us. We don't take RFPs, we don't run a sales team, and we don't staff up to pitch. The principals do this work themselves because they're the people who'll be in the room if you eventually hire us.

What to expect
Before
We do the homework.

One of the principals personally reviews your public materials in the 24 hours before the call. You won't be quizzed on basics — we'll have already read them.

During
One sharp question, 45 minutes.

You bring a real positioning problem. We bring a hypothesis, push on it, and stress-test it. No deck. No sales pitch. Just judgment.

After
A one-page memo within 48 hours.

The principal who took the call writes you a one-page note with what we saw, what we'd do, and whether we think the engagement is worth either of our time.

Cost
Nothing. Genuinely.

The briefing is free. We do roughly six a week. We turn down two-thirds of the businesses we brief. We turn down two-thirds of the businesses who'd like to engage us. The screen is the point.

Request a briefing

Tell us what you'd
actually want to ask.

All briefing requests are reviewed personally by a principal. We respond within 48 hours, every time. Most weeks we accept fewer than half.
Confidential · principal-reviewed
Who this is for
honest filtering, both ways

A good briefing is mutual.
Here's the screen.

You're a fit if
  • You can name the position you'd like to own — even if it's wrong.
  • The principals would be in the room, not a delegated team.
  • The engagement is a 12-month commitment, not a one-off project.
  • You have a CEO or founder willing to be in public.
  • You'd rather have fewer sharper hours than more diluted ones.
You're not a fit if
  • You're looking for execution: campaigns, ads, web build, social.
  • Budget is treated as a constraint, not a commitment to brand stewardship.
  • Decisions go through more than three people you don't control.
  • You want a vendor, not a brand stewardship relationship.
  • "Differentiation" is a slide you'd rather not have to defend.

The honest answer matters more than the polite one. If you read the column on the right and it sounds like you — that is itself useful information. Run the audit instead and use what comes back to argue with your current partner.

If not now
three softer ways in

Three lower-cost ways
to read the firm.

Option A · 60 sec

Run the Brand Intelligence Audit.

Free, instant, six dimensions. Use the result to argue with your current partner.

Audit my brand →
Option B · weekly

Read the Brand Intelligence Memo.

Two essays a week. Most prospects decide whether to talk to us after six months of reading.

Subscribe →
Option C · annual

Download the 2026 Report.

Eight pages. One argument. The most opinionated thing we publish all year.

Download →