♖ Manifest Your Strategy Into Reality

Hi Moaters,

In 2006, while working in cleantech investing, I witnessed something I’d never seen before—an event that’s shaped my thinking about strategy ever since.

A small electric car startup had just published their strategy online. Most VCs I knew thought Elon was crazy for giving away Tesla's "secret sauce."

Over the next 18 months, I saw battery manufacturers seeking funding start using Tesla’s published plan in their pitch decks. "Look," they'd say, "Tesla proves there will be demand for next-gen battery tech."

And I saw it work. VCs invested. Those suppliers got funded, and Tesla needed those sub-component suppliers to be successful. Tesla’s public strategy didn’t just create demand—it helped fund the supply chain that made their cars possible.

Today's insight: How sharing your strategic vision publicly creates a self-fulfilling prophecy that transforms your business and life.

What this means for you: When you share unique ambitions openly, the right people and opportunities come to you. I'll also give you a proven template to start building that muscle.

The Counter-Intuitive Truth

Most leaders think sharing strategy gives competitors an advantage. The opposite is true.

I recently shared 7 reasons why open strategy beats secret strategy on LinkedIn.

Here's what this looks like in practice:

Apple's App Store (2008): Jobs publicly announced the vision before launch. 100,000 developers signed up pre-launch, creating the ecosystem that made iPhone unstoppable.

Amazon's "Everything Store" (1997): Bezos declared Amazon would expand beyond books. Suppliers and logistics companies began preparing for that reality, building the infrastructure Amazon needed.

Salesforce's "No Software" (1999): Benioff publicly attacked on-premise software before cloud was ready. This bold stance attracted developers and customers who wanted to build the cloud-first future.

Netflix Streaming (2005): Reed Hastings declared they'd stream movies years before the technology existed. Content studios and broadband providers started building the infrastructure Netflix needed.

Oprah's Book Club (1996): When Oprah announced she'd feature books on her show, she didn't just create a TV segment, she manifested an entire literary ecosystem. Authors began writing "Oprah-worthy" books. Bookstores created dedicated sections. Her public commitment to reading transformed how America discovers books. The result: 59 of her 70 book club selections became #1 bestsellers, with some selling over 1 million copies each.

The pattern works at every scale: Share your strategic ideas, and your ecosystem starts helping you succeed.

When Strategy Manifestation Fails

Not every strategy deserves to be shared. Strategy manifestation only works when you pass three critical tests:

1. The Boldness Test: Is your strategy easily copyable?

If competitors can easily replicate your approach just by hearing about it, you have a “meh” problem.

2. The Generic Test: Are you creating something tangibly new?

Generic strategies ("improve customer experience") don't inspire ecosystems. Specific, unique visions do.

3. The Care Test: Do people actually want this future? Your strategy must solve a real problem people care about. Think Segways. They had a bold, unique vision for personal transportation, but not enough people cared about the problem it solved.

If you can't pass all three tests, I recommend keeping your strategy internal until you can.

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How to Begin Building the Manifest Muscle

Amazon has a secret weapon for strategy manifestation that they try to build as a muscle across teams. It’s called the “Working Backwards Press Release” (My personal free template with AI prompt provided below for you to steal).

Before building any new product/service, Amazon teams write the press release first. This forces clarity on customer value and gets everyone aligned on the vision before spending resources.

It’s also a great test. If you can’t get internal teams excited, you are not going to get any customers excited.

As a former product exec, this was my go-to tool for getting cross-functional alignment. Highly encourage you to use it. You write about your initiative as if it already succeeded, then work backwards to make it reality.

Here's why it works:

• Forces customer focus - You can't write compelling copy without understanding real value.

• Creates internal clarity - Teams understand exactly what success looks like.

• Builds momentum - A great press release gets people excited to build toward that future.

Action:

1. Download my Amazon Press Release Template - Complete with step-by-step prompts and AI assistance (link below).

2. Write the press release - As if your initiative already succeeded and is being announced.

3. Share with 3 key people - Stakeholders who could help make it reality.

Download: Amazon's Working Backwards Press Release Template (Link)

Hope you manifest something amazing this weekend!

Til next time,

—Ali

P.S. Wild confession: I'm writing this newsletter to manifest my own strategy. I want to become the go-to voice for actionable strategy & GTM execution advice. So far, 240 of you are helping make it happen. That is like 12 of my daughters’ elementary classes. Wild. Thanks for each of you being part of this early journey.

About Me: I’m Ali, a former tech exec who now advises growth-stage B2B companies on strategy & GTM execution. Sad fact: There's a Rubik's cube on my desk that's been mocking me for 20+ years. Still unsolved. Still judging me every morning. If I can help you or your company get clear on your go-to-market execution, please reach out.

Learn more about my story on LinkedIn.