Maya Prohovnik
Name the Enemy
Inspired by Maya Prohovnik episode
Maya Prohovnik: positioning needs an enemy - not a competitor, the old broken way. Name what your family is fighting against.
Maya Prohovnik learned at Redis that saying "we're the fastest database" made people nod politely and forget by lunch. So they identified their enemy: "Waiting for your database is killing your business." Suddenly everyone paid attention.
Turns out this works in parenting too, but darker.
You announce "we're doing a new bedtime routine" and your kids just stare at you like you're describing cloud architecture. But name the enemy—"Right now, bedtimes take 90 minutes and everyone ends up crying"—and suddenly you've got allies. Point at the problem like it's a villain in a heist movie. Make everyone want to defeat it.
Then your new approach becomes the obvious weapon. Which is great until you realize the enemy might be you, standing there at 9:47 PM reading the same book for the third time while someone asks if sharks have feelings.
