Hi {{ first name | there }},

As the year winds down, I wanted to share the most-read newsletter posts of 2025.

When I started writing this newsletter in 2024, the intention was simple: to help you make progress by challenging how we think about why customers really buy, so you can make smarter product and marketing decisions.

Looking back at this year’s most popular posts, what stood out wasn’t the topics that performed well, but what they revealed.

Because these posts don’t tell a story about what I wrote.
They tell a story about what you (and teams like yours) are still trying to figure out.

With that in mind, here are the four most-read posts from this year, and what they reveal about the work many teams are still wrestling with.

What it reveals
Many teams are chasing growth through volume because they can’t clearly determine who is actually in-market.

The idea 💡
Demand doesn’t come from manufacturing interest.
It comes from finding people who are already struggling—and naming that struggle better than they can themselves.

This matters when…
Your pipeline looks busy, but sales conversion is weak… and you suspect you’re talking to people who are curious, not committed.

What it reveals
Jobs-to-be-Done is broadly understood as a concept — but still poorly applied.

The idea 💡
Real demand only exists when three things line up at the same moment:
a struggling situation, a clear idea of progress, and trade-offs the customer is willing to accept.

This matters when…
Your positioning feels vague, your value proposition sounds interchangeable, or your product is trying to serve too many jobs at once.

What it reveals
Pricing decisions are still being made to protect margin, and often at the expense of trust.

The idea 💡
Pricing is a service.
When it hides trade-offs, it blocks progress at the exact moment buyers are trying to move forward.

This matters when…
Deals stall late in the funnel, or prospects keep saying,
“Help me understand the numbers.”

What it reveals
Teams measure satisfaction, but often miss the outcomes customers were actually trying to achieve.

The idea 💡
NPS only becomes a growth lever when you dig into the “why” and connect feedback with their original struggle and desired outcome.

This matters when…
Churn feels unpredictable, referrals are inconsistent, or customer feedback feels noisy rather than helpful to others.

Taken together, these posts point to the same conclusion:

Most growth problems aren’t caused by a lack of tools, tactics, or effort.
They come from a lack of shared understanding about demand.

Who is genuinely struggling.
What progress really looks like for them.
And which trade-offs they’re willing to make.

The teams making progress aren’t doing more.
They’re getting clearer about the progress customers are really trying to make.

Here’s a question worth sitting with before January kicks-in.

Which of these ideas do you agree with, but haven't acted on?
That gap between knowing and doing is where most opportunity still lives.

With that, all that remains is to wish you a very Happy New Year.
Thanks for reading, thinking, and replying this year.

Here’s to a 2026 filled with progress.

Best wishes,

Peter

P.S. One of the most rewarding parts of writing this newsletter has been hearing back from readers. If you have a thought, a question, or a challenge you’re wrestling with, just hit reply — it’ll land right at the top of my inbox.

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