Paul Syng

Your thinking partner | Business Designer

Podcast Host

Deloitte

Work side-by-side with firm leadership, sales coaches, bid/proposal teams and SMEs to win the hearts and minds of buyers by helping them show up differently (over $2B won!)

Sr. Director, Creative Strategy (Advisory)

H Degree

Partner

GQ India

Writer

Wunderman

Copywriter

Pickle Lintas

MullenLowe Lintas Group

Human beings are students, and designers are students of humans.

In two decades of working with leaders, I've noticed a pattern: most businesses don't have a capability problem. 

They have a clarity problem.

Your team is brilliant. 
Your product works. 

But something's off.

Maybe it's the gap between what you think you're selling and what customers think they're buying. 

Or how your team describes your business differently depending on who's talking.

These aren't marketing issues. 
They're positioning problems.

I help CEOs and founders uncover their true position. 

Not through lengthy consulting engagements or fancy strategy decks that collect dust, but through a simple, straightforward process that reveals blind spots and aligns teams.

As one CEO told me: "I thought I had a pretty good handle on the 'What do you do?' response. Turns out it needed some refining to really stand out."

I've helped leaders at companies from startups to Fortune 500s cut through the noise to find the one truth that anchors their business.

Burn the strategy deck. 
Uncover your true position. 

Let's talk.

I've been watching what Dave Gerhardt built with Exit Five, and something didn't add up. You talk about community, execution, and tactics. But your members talk about validation, legitimacy, and feeling "less insane."

That gap is everything. 

Dave, you can't read your own label.

I spent time trying to understand what Exit Five actually owns in people's minds. Not what you say it is, but what it means to them. What I found is way bigger than "the best B2B marketing community."

You accidentally built the institutional credentialing system for an uncredentialed profession. The thing you always say, "no one goes to school for B2B marketing," that's not backstory. 

That's the entire position.

This isn't criticism. It's the opposite. You solved something fundamental that you can't see from inside because you're past the legitimacy crisis now. But your members aren't. And that's why Exit Five works.

Read this if you want to see what you actually built. Sometimes the best thing someone can do is show you your own work from an outside perspective.

Read → https://lnkd.in/gB-5Wvfx

Clarity for CEOs and Founders | Strategic Advisor | Helped 500+ founders claim mental territory | Creator of The Mental Monopoly System

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32 Episodes In: My Unfiltered Truth About Podcasting

I've been recording my podcast, "Dots," for over two years now, hitting a milestone of about 32 episodes.

Instead of sharing a “how-to” guide, I want to share my honest observations and the one core philosophy that keeps me going. If you're thinking of starting a podcast, or even a content series, this is for you.

Observation #1: It’s a Ton of Work (So Forget the Vanity Metrics)

The common misconception is that a podcast is a shortcut to views, followers, or quick sales. It’s not.

The real-time sink isn't the 45-minute (up to 3 hours) recording; it's the post-production, the back-and-forth scheduling, and finding the right guests. If you’re not starting it for the right internal reason (something more profound than audience growth), you will quit quickly.

Observation #2: My Only Niche is Curiosity

I’m incredibly inquisitive (super nosy, actually) about how businesses work, how humans think, and how disciplines like psychology, finance, and commerce connect.

I’ve spent 20 years in business, and I refuse to follow the generic advice you hear online: "Pick a narrow niche!" and "Stick to a rigid schedule!" That formula has never worked for me.

My podcast is a reflection of my philosophy: Always be a student, never an expert.

I record when I'm genuinely curious about a topic and when I find a guest who can challenge my thinking. I want to understand 'how people think' about problems, not just what narrow tactic they used last week. This integrated, polymathic view of business and humans is what truly stimulates and drives me.

A Huge Thank You to the Incredible Guests

My episodes are proof of this multi-disciplinary approach. I’ve had conversations with experts from psychology, FinTech, e-commerce, branding, sales, and change management. Thank you to everyone who has joined me so far. 

The ones featured in the poster include:

Shwetank Dixit
Talica Davies 🦂 
Karan P.
Nicole Murphy
Bill Harper
Yousuf Afridi
Gayle Charach
Erik Host-Steen
Isha S.
Tom Henheffer

I’ll continue to do the podcast because it’s fun, I learn something new every time, and I'll do it when I’m genuinely interested in the topic, not because a scheduling algorithm or a social media guru tells me to.

Thanks also to Ryan James Terry for the beautiful artwork that frames this journey.

DOTS PODCAST ON ALL PLATFORMS

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/g3zzmqVZ

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/g2JQBAub 

Apple: https://lnkd.in/gw3ndXu8  

Podcasters: https://lnkd.in/geTrVGpQ

---
What drives your content creation? Is it a schedule or a genuine spark of curiosity? Let me know in the comments!

👋🏼 Peep Laja, I've been studying what you've built at Wynter, and I think you might be sitting on something bigger than you realize.

I went through 140+ customer testimonials and reviews. The language they use doesn't match the position you describe. They're not just buying "fast market research." They keep saying things like "passed by Wynter," "my springboard," "cleared to launch."

That's not research language. That's authorization language.

You can't read your own label. None of us can. We're too close to the decisions we made, the constraints we faced, and the data we see daily.

So I wrote this as an outside perspective — trying to read what your customers are actually telling you about the position you've created. You might read it and think I'm completely wrong. You have data I don't. You've built this thing.

But sometimes the most powerful insights come from someone who can see patterns you're too close to notice.

This is a love letter to what you've built, not a critique of how you see it.

Worth 15 minutes of your time.

Read → https://lnkd.in/gm3b5hYS

A lot of you are making content because you’re avoiding the thing that actually gets you money in the bank. 

Sales.

There’s a scene at the end of The Matrix where Neo finally stops running.

He sees the code. 
He understands who he is.

The bullets stop mid-air. 

He looks calm, certain, inevitable.

That moment (when identity locks in and the world bends around it) is what I kept thinking about while building the CEO Clarity Starter Kit.

Because most founders live in the scene before that moment.

They’re fighting inside the simulation (chasing new taglines, messaging sprints, rebrands) trying to dodge bullets instead of realizing they can stop them.

The Clarity Kit is built to help you reach that Neo-moment.

The second you uncover and confirm who you actually are as a business (what you stand for, what you reject, what concept only you can own) every decision changes.

Your pricing. 
Your product. 
Your marketing.

The fog lifts, and you move differently.

That’s what hundreds of CEOs and founders have experienced using the kit: a shift from guessing to knowing.

If you haven’t had your Neo moment yet, this will get you there.

(Ze link is in zee bio)

One hour.

That's it.

Not three months of discovery.
Not six whiteboard sessions.
Not another "we'll circle back on this" meeting.

One hour to walk away with:

→ Your actual position (the concept you own, not the category you fit in)

→ What buyers actually care about (not your feature list)

→ How your position becomes daily decisions (not a deck that sits in a folder)

→ Your offer, packaged and ready (not another draft to revise)

→ Landing page copy that converts (not placeholder lorem ipsum)

→ Your LinkedIn profile rewritten (not "thought leader in...")

→ Content that moves traffic to your offer (not engagement bait)

Plus the canvases, frameworks, and ClarityGPT access to keep iterating.

Everything you need to stop explaining what you do and start owning what you mean.

Before you hire another consultant.
Before you schedule another strategy off-site.
Before you waste another quarter "finding your voice."
Before you do another branding exercise.
Before you redesign your website.

Try this.

CEO Clarity Starter Kit → (link in bio)

Testimonials from CEOs and founders are in the comments👇🏼

In one focused hour, you'll walk away with clarity. 

You're chasing ideas when you should be owning concepts.

Here's the difference:

Ideas are tactical.

"Let's position ourselves as the fastest tool."
"We should be known for innovation."
"Our idea is to focus on customer service."

These are thoughts. Anyone can have the same thought tomorrow. Your competitor will copy it in three weeks.

Concepts are fundamental and foundational.

Volvo doesn't have an idea about safety. 
They own safety.

Tesla doesn't have an idea about the future. 
They own the future.

Apple doesn't have an idea about experience. 
They own experience.

When you own a concept, competitors can't just copy you. They'd have to attack the entire category.

Why this matters:

Most CEOs think they need better ideas. They don't.

They need to find the concept they already own (or should own) and build everything around it.

Ideas are easy to say. Concepts are hard to own.

But once you own one, it becomes structural. It shapes every decision. Your team aligns naturally. Customers feel the pull before you sell.

The question isn't "What's our next idea?"

The question is "What concept do we own?"

If you can't answer that in one word, you don't own anything yet.

Most CEOs can't answer this question:

"What do you own in the minds of your customers?"

Not what you sell.
Not what you do.
What you OWN.

Volvo owns safety.
Apple owns experience.
Tesla owns the future.

What do you own?

If you hesitated, you're not alone. 97% of companies are stuck at Level 1 positioning — saying things, not owning things.

Here's the problem:

Your team describes your business differently depending on who's asking.

Your competitors copy your messaging in weeks.

You're competing on features instead of concepts.

This isn't a marketing problem. 

It's a clarity problem.

And clarity isn't something you create. 

It's something you find.

I spent 6 months building a system that helps CEOs find what they own in 60 minutes. 

Not months. 

Not after hiring expensive consultants. 

60 minutes.

Position audit. AI advisor. The 4-Level Canvas. And the 30-day course that has helped over 200 founders stop competing and start owning.

$249. 

Everything you need to claim mental territory.

(Ze link is in zee bio)

If you can't name what you own, your competitors already did.

Karan P., thank you for sharing this. Appreciate you testing it first and taking the time to write about it. Means a lot coming from someone who sees founders at every stage through TD's lens.

AVP & Head of Product | Board Member

In my role, focused on Innovation in Enterprise Digital Strategy at TD, I regularly meet with fintech founders. One challenge I often experience is a clear and differentiated positioning in an ever cluttered and converging financial services industry. 

I tested Paul Syng’s CEO Clarity Starter Kit on my personal positioning. The output: my position clearly named (I'm the Bridge between banking rigour and digital-first opportunity), three ranked niches, and a strategy canvas ready to use. Key observations:

• Speed forced clarity – no time for consultant-speak
• Questions extracted patterns from 13+ years at TD in minutes
• AI applied correctly: sharpens thinking rather than replacing it
• Immediately usable output tied to defensible mental territory

Why it matters:
Differentiation in not easy. Positioning clarity has a direct impact on partnership velocity and decision-making.

Tested across three companies at different stages through our ecosystem partnerships. Same result: fog to focus. One founder: "Months of advisors couldn't get here."

Thank you Paul for demonstrating how AI can sharpen strategic work. Worth exploring for operators in open finance or fintech space. 

Here’s the link to the kit: http://claritytoscale.biz

Let’s be honest: is it AI slop or human slop?

People are complaining about AI slop, but let’s not forget, about two years ago, before AI was even a talking point, it was human slop everywhere. 

The only difference now is that AI is amplifying what’s already there. The lack of critical thinking, the intellectual laziness. That hasn’t changed. We’re just seeing it on a larger scale.

Think about it this way: AI is like a team of junior analysts producing drafts and outputs. The human is the partner, the final reviewer. If that final layer of rigour (the critical thinking, the questioning, the accountability) isn’t there, is it really AI’s fault? 

Or is it human slop?

At the heart of this isn’t AI quality alone, it’s human accountability. AI is just holding up a mirror. If we’re seeing slop, maybe it’s time to look at ourselves. Are we bringing the right rigour? Are we ready to own it and raise the bar?

So next time you see an output (from a human or AI), ask yourself: am I just accepting the surface, or am I digging deeper, providing that final layer of accountability? 

Let’s transform the way we work — with AI, humans and with everything. Because in the end, it’s convenient to shift the blame to AI. But the real challenge? 

It’s looking in the mirror.

I'm launching a new service.

Over the last week, I published three in-depth business reports. My DMs are now full of people wanting one done for them.

Here's what these reports do:

I read your business from the outside. I study what you're saying, what your customers are saying, and what you're not saying. I look at the gap between what you think you've built and what you've actually built.

You can't read your label from the inside of the jar.

These reports answer one question: What business are you actually in?

Not what you think you're in. What you've actually created.

The core insights come from the CEO Clarity Starter Kit. The report is me wrapping those insights into a narrative with chapters and structure.

How it works:

- Only available as an add-on to the Clarity Kit
- Takes me two weeks per report
- I can only do four per month

Pricing:

- USD $7,500 if I publish it publicly (on my socials)
- USD $10,000 if you want it private (DM for this)

I'm calling these Gravity Reports.

I've done three examples:

1. Wynter
https://lnkd.in/gm3b5hYS

2. Hampton
https://lnkd.in/gFtzEnUG  

3. Exit Five
https://lnkd.in/gB-5Wvfx

If you want one, buy the Clarity Kit first. You'll see the add-on option at checkout.

That's it.

Grab your CEO Clarity Starter Kit → http://claritytoscale.biz

The Gravity Report x Testimonials

Unlearning is WAY harder than learning something new.

Make your brand terribly tangible.

My friend Paul Syng has written one of the best descriptions on strategy, positioning and category design I have ever read. Using Jesus’ message of salvation as the product to be sold, it’s super smart and funny as well. Really great stuff Paul! 👏👏👏

Twenty years of experience in one simple concept. 

Watch all the B2B (SaaS LinkedIn industrial complex) melt after watching this.

🫠

You don’t need a $15–25k positioning consult or a 100k+ category design sprint.

You need the right system.

I built the CEO Clarity Starter Kit. It runs a 2-minute audit, an 8-question advisor, and ClarityGPT to name your position and turn it into assets you can ship in about 60 minutes.



What you get:

* One-line position: the noun you own + why buyers care

* “What they buy vs what you sell” map

* 4-Level Positioning Canvas with next moves

* 4-Level Operating Model Canvas for alignment

* Landing page in your buyer’s voice

* Offer packaged with proof + risk reversal

* LinkedIn profile rewrite that drives to the page

* Unlimited high traffic posts 

* 30-day action plan + simple metrics

* One-page summary for your team/board



What you need to do (under 1 hour):

* Run the audit
* Answer the 8 advisor questions
* Paste the output into ClarityGPT
* Ship the page and offer



Typical stack: 

consult 15–25k, 
category design 100k+, 
tools 199, 
course 299.

Aggregate value: 25k+



Kit price: 249 USD one-time.

Used by 200+ CEOs and founders.

Ze link is in zee bio.

When a person tries the CEO Clarity Starter Kit for the first time. 

Ze link is in zee bio.

Partner at Hampton

Fantastic piece by Paul, spot on about kinship being the real moat. He nailed what actually drives Hampton’s growth: connection and accountability, not just community. It’s rare to see someone unpack the business with that level of clarity. We built this for founders who needed what we needed ourselves, and it’s been incredible to shepherd it's growth.

Thank you, Paul Hicks, for being one of the 'early adopters' (code for guinea pig) on the CEO Clarity Starter Kit! Appreciate you testing it yourself first and sharing what you saw. Means a lot. 💎

We don’t train sales teams. We transform them into resilient systems. That’s why we’re the last partner you’ll ever hire.

I have a rule, I generally don't do endorsements. 

My personal values and brand are too important to compromise.

And let me be clear, this IS an endorsement...

Paul Syng asked me to review his "CEO Clarity Starter Kit" and share feedback with him, I said "You bet, but I'm going to be brutally honest". 

He said bring it on...

I thought I was helping him, little did I know he was helping me out at the same time!

First Green Flag!  He's validating his work early on and seeking out ways to improve it.  He's already incorporated some of my feedback in 2.0

Second Green Flag - I learned a ton.  I thought I had a pretty good handle on the "What do you do?" response.  Turns out it needed some refining to really standout from the crowd.

Third Green Flag - He didn't do "The Consulting Thing".  You know, where they point out all the holes and say good luck.  The AI Clarity Advisor gave me actionable insights and support.

Finally, It's free. 🤯  This level of value and clarity is worth real $$$.  Paul, I still think you're crazy for giving this level of thinking away for free.

After working through the Starter Kit I've reframed how I position myself and isolated what I do NOT want to be known for.

I think the CEO Clarity Starter Kit is perfect for 2 different personas:

First, the CEO/Leader who knows their ICP, messaging, value prop and niche could use a little fine-tuning.  This WILL help you!!

Second, the CEO/Leader who thinks they have it all figured out.  This will uncover the blind spots you aren't seeing.

Want instant access to the course?

Comment "http://claritytoscale.biz" below and I'll send you the link! 😉✌️

WTF does 'Market Sentiment' have to do with positioning?

https://lnkd.in/gar4xFKm

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