🌵 Spiky point of view: Let’s get a little controversial
We live in a noisy world. Whichever industry you’re in, there are thousands of other people like you trying to get noticed.
Unless you distinguish yourself, you’ll never get a chance to show how different you actually are.
To stand out, you need to develop what I call a “spiky” point of view.
What is a spiky point of view?
A spiky point of view is a perspective others can disagree with. It’s a belief you feel strongly about and are willing to advocate for. It’s your thesis about topics in your realm of expertise.
Each person has a unique way of seeing the world.
It’s what separates you from everyone else. It’s the culmination of your experience, skills, personality, instincts, and intuition. These factors have molded you into the person you are today.
Your spiky point of view showcases how you approach your craft. It shows why you make the decisions you make. It shows you’re thinking rigorously and interpreting what’s going on around you.
A spiky point of view is almost impossible to imitate. It’s unique to each person, which is why it’s such a powerful competitive advantage. It’s rooted in your conviction and authenticity.
The best part?
You already have it in you.
How to bring out your spiky point of view
Here are the key elements of a spiky point of view.
1. A spiky point of view can be debated.
Others should be able to disagree with your spiky point of view. If everyone agrees with it, it’s too middle of the road.
2. A spiky point of view isn’t controversial for the sake of it.
There’s nothing more irritating than a contrarian who just wants to stir the pot. It’s intellectually lazy. Don’t be that person.
3. A spiky point of view teaches your audience something relevant they don’t already know.
Don’t just summarize information. Don’t only ask questions. Offer a point of view that makes people see their problem in a new way. You want them to say, “Hmm I hadn’t thought about it that way but this is so true. This is making me rethink a lot of things.”
4. A spiky point of view is rooted in evidence, but it doesn’t have to be a proven fact or universal truth.
Your perspective should be defensible. You should believe in it enough to advocate for it. But you have to be okay with people disagreeing with you. If you wait for 100% consensus before you say your spiky point of view out loud, that day will never come.
5. A spiky point of view requires conviction.
You have to be brave enough to advocate for what you believe in. It’s not a passive regurgitation of information. There’s a stance of advocacy and a bias toward action. You’re trying to convince someone of this spiky point of view because you genuinely believe they’ll be better for it.
Examples of spiky points of view
To get you started, here are a few of my spiky points of view for inspiration:
If you’re building an online course, you need to build marketing into your course from day one. You can’t afford to tack on marketing at the end and hope for the best. Creating a steady stream for student acquisition is hard, so by building marketing directly into your product (the course), gives you a fighting chance of standing out and reaching students ongoing.
Launches aren’t a one-time event. Most companies do a ton of work for the launch, but don’t spend enough time on what happens after. A successful launch means sustaining the momentum once the confetti settles.
Stop learning how to give feedback. Focus on learning to receive it. Most people are terrible at receiving feedback, so you only need to be a little better to win.
When you teach online, many people assume they’re 100% an instructor—but you’re actually 50% an instructor and 50% an entertainer. Attention spans are short and the responsibility is on the instructor (not the student) to help students understand why they should care.
Prototyping is unnecessary in 90% of cases. People think a 5-day sprint is fast but I think it’s way too slow. Instead, take 30 minutes to scenario plan. Pretend you already decided to launch your new product. Now what? You’ll realize logical gaps fast. You can prototype, but don’t jump straight to it.
Start with why has done more harm than good. It’s given a generation of professionals the permission to indulge in navel-gazing. No one cares about your “why”—they only care about how you can help them.
Experiments aren’t free. They cost a lot in terms of set up and maintenance. Don’t do them unless you know how the results will change your future behavior.
Society doesn’t judge all failures equally. Therefore, if you want to talk about failure, you should do it when the failure punctuates a strong track record. Otherwise you're better off just talking about your success. People can disagree with me on this. They can say, “No Wes, I think people should talk about their failures without worrying about judgment because the goodwill you get from being vulnerable outweighs judgment. The key is to share what you learned from your failure, so your audience knows you learned from it.” That’s a different spiky point of view and it’s totally valid.
Here are more examples: My spiky points of view: 15 examples to inspire your SPOV
Keep refining generic ideas
What’s preventing you from coming up with spiky points of view? Fear. If you share your spiky point of view, people could disagree with you. Or you could end up being wrong. Or your spiky point of view doesn’t cover a random edge case, and your audience misinterprets what you’re saying.
Some of these concerns are valid. This is why so many people choose the safer path of only saying what everyone around them already agrees with. Sharing your spiky point of view requires a bit of boldness.
Since you’re used to rounding the edges to make your ideas more palatable, some of your initial spiky points of view will be generic. Keep refining them to get more specific. The act of coming up with your spiky points of view sharpens your own thinking, so you can articulate what you believe.
For example, I was giving feedback to an instructor for their cohort-based course. Many of his slides were generic, which was ironic because I think of him as one of the spikiest entrepreneurs I’ve come across. One of his bullet points said "teach as you learn," which was probably the spikiest idea of the bunch. It was a bullet point on a slide, so it was too high level for me to tell what he meant if he were to elaborate.
But I took a stab at making it spikier. This is what I would say if I were to make his idea spikier:
If you don't have it all figured out—this is a feature, not a bug.
There are 2 ways to build community:
(a) Be an expert
(b) Be a beginner
Most people think they have to be experts before they can teach or build community, but some of the most successful creators actually leaned into their beginner status. Examples: Shaan Puri, Alex Blumberg on the Startup Podcast, etc.
Jack Butcher expresses an adjacent idea as "sell your sawdust." That what most people think of as byproduct can be THE product.
A spiky point of view shouldn’t be a controversial hot take. It can be the frame you use to describe an idea in the first place. I said there were 2 ways to build community, but you might think there are 3 ways, or 10 ways. Or you might disagree with the 2 ways I listed. For example, you could say “The two ways to build community are to be an expert or a curator.”
Spiky points of view are intensely personal, so come up with your own
Spiky points of view are shaped by your experiences, and therefore authentic to each person.
In other words: Don’t copy other people’s spiky point of view.
Why?
Your spiky points of view should be hills you’re willing to die on. When you parrot someone else, your energy level and sense of conviction won’t be the same.
When your enthusiasm is contagious, your customers will perk up. That energy in itself is electrifying to be around.
This is an opportunity to say the ideas you care a lot about, but are afraid people might push back on. Try it anyway. You’ll be surprised how people gravitate towards and appreciate your willingness to take a stand.
So stay alert for examples of spiky points of view out in the wild. But ultimately, come up with your own. It’s worth it.
Ready?
Now it’s your turn…
Action:
What are 3–5 spiky points of view you have about your craft?
What’s something you believe that others might disagree with? These should be on topics where you are credible and that are relevant for your audience. Otherwise it’s a random hot take or opinion, and opinions are cheap.
What do you wish more people understood? This should be something that makes you a little angry or frustrated. Conviction and emotion matter here—if it’s something you’re ambivalent about, it’s not worth your time to convince others.
Jot down what you’ve said that made your audience (customers, clients) say “Hmm I never thought of it like that before. This is so true and it’s making me rethink a lot of things.”
What’s a generally accepted best practice that everyone seems to do or believe is good, that you think is not useful or doesn’t work based on your experience?
Some of these questions are intentionally similar, but phrased differently to spark a response in you. You can answer all of them or just the ones that resonate.
Some of your initial answers might be tame with rounded edges, which is totally normal. You should refine and iterate based on feedback. Ask friends or coworkers—or post it on Twitter and mention it on an upcoming call with real customers. Let the market react. If you get lots of replies and comments, this is a good sign. People don’t have to agree with your spiky point of view, but they will be sparked by it. It’s okay if they disagree with you. The goal is to share your truth and start a conversation—not to aim for 100% agreement from everyone you come in contact with.
You’ll know you have a great spiky point of view when your audience’s eyes light up and they want to hear more.
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