(2005-01-19) Shel Israel Positioning

Shel Israel on the Positioning Statement. A positioning statement is where a company starts. It is the strategic cornerstone, the core of all things. A positioning statement captures the essence your product or service and differentiates you in some valuable way from all competitors. A positioning statement is a logical, credible, often bland declaration of where and why you exist. It should reside inside your team's collective mind... Your positioning statement should influence all strategic and most tactical actions. It is best to use language that achieves power in its clarity and simplicity. Even your least-informed team member needs to understand it and make decisions fueled by it. It is fiction to say that all company members should speak with one voice. But the reality is that the positioning statement can ensure that the discordant voices of the modern enterprise do sing in harmony with each other. (Mission)