Book Summary

Get to Aha!
Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition
Book by Andy Cunningham Published by McGraw-Hill | © 2018

Synopsis
Does your company have a unique personality or brand? Do you know what it is? Do your consumers? Are you failing
to showcase what really sets you apart from the competition?

Get to Aha! (McGraw-Hill, © 2018) helps

The key concepts of Get to Aha! can be distilled into the

you explore who your company is at its

following steps:

core—its corporate DNA—and how you Define Your Position

can use it to re-establish your positioning
in the market for a more successful,
positive outcome with consumers. Andy
Cunningham shows you how to discover
your company’s DNA, implement it, and
strive for success. Understand who you
are as a company—both emotionally and
logically—and why you matter in today’s
market.
To create your ideal positioning in the market you must understand
who you are as a company and why you matter. How does it fill a niche
in the market?
Know Your Company DNA
Understand the image and voice of your company and product in the
“genetic type”—a general way to categorize personality—of your
business. In this way you’ll create and deliver a brand that harmonizes
with your company’s market position.

Assess Your Environment

There are six key elements that determine a company’s position in the
marketing landscape; Core, Category, Community, Competition, Context
and Criteria. These all play a collective role and need to be explored.

Activate
Once the needs, opportunities, competition, and trends of the market
have been identified, this information needs to be brought to life
through advertising, presentations, social media shares, etc.

Strive for Progress

Continually reach for the next step improve audience, revenue, or
creativity by successfully identifying and navigating the top barriers that
hinder new goals.

“Knowing your DNA and working with it—rather than against it—paves the path to success.”
Based on Get to Aha! Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition by Andy Cunningham, we discuss
how to truly understand the personality of a company, therefore building stronger marketing and branding
techniques, becoming more focused and relevant to the consumer, all while honing in on ways to dominate the
competition. We share our interpretations of these strategies in the following pages.
 Book Summary: Get to Aha!
2

How Do You Find Your Company’s DNA?

To adequately discover the DNA of your company, two questions must first be asked; who are you as a company,
and what value do you bring? To answer this, you must determine the logical relevance of your company and
product, and really pinpoint where they have the chance to shine within the increasingly competitive market.
This is referred to in Get to Aha! as understanding the company’s DNA, or the meaning and motive of a company
at its very core.

sPositioning vs. Brandings

To unravel the mystery of your company’s DNA, you must first understand the concepts of positioning and
branding within your company. Positioning and branding are often used interchangeably in the marketing and
business realm, when in fact, they are entirely different. While positioning is the reflection of a company’s rational
stance on product, environment, and consumer, branding is the emotional counterpart. Frequently, companies
put the emotional aspect ahead of the logical aspect, and when the time comes to connect the two, a creative
collision forms as a result of the two sides—the yin and yang, so to speak—not being synchronized. In Get To
Aha!, Cunningham helps you identify the difference between positioning and branding, and how establishing
one can lead to a seamless transition of establishing the other. When both the logical and emotional sides of
your company are sharing common ground, it will be more successful as a whole.

sStart From Scratchs

When creating a position for your company, toss aside the idea of a brand for the time being. Wipe the slate
clean, so to speak. Remember, the brand is the emotional part; the colorful, creative, artistic part that includes
graphics, logos, and catch phrases. While this is the part people are drawn to, it should be put on the back burner
until the positioning is completed.

First, focus on the logical aspect of your company. Take a look at the product or idea you’re aiming to make
marketable. Why is it important? What does it deliver and to whom? Where does it fit in with the demand from
consumers? Who is the competition?

As Cunningham explains, many people in companies start with the emotional side of marketing. This approach
frequently backfires. Also, companies often think too big in terms of scale. Voicing a goal that’s overly ambitious
is unrealistic. When first constructing a position of your company, think small to start with, and grow from there
with each successful bridge you cross. Start with a realistic goal and determine steps for potential success.
Creating a position, and position statement, that is too grand will only cause reluctance in consumers, investors
and employees, and can ultimately lead to failure. Start small and be specific, and increase from there once
progress is made. Cunningham doesn’t deter you from dreaming big, however, but supports the concept of
cautious optimism and avoiding biting off more than you can chew.
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sThe Three Categories of Companies—Genetic Testings

Cunningham suggests there are only three categories of companies; Mother, Mechanical and Missionary. All
companies fall into one of these categories, and the primary category helps your company define its core DNA
and therefore its ideal positioning in the market. These are found through what Cunningham calls genetic testing.

• Mother companies are driven by the needs and responses of the customers.
• Mechanical companies are strongly product-oriented.
• Missionary companies are motivated by concepts and ideas.

If a Mother company, for example, were to present a position statement that’s predominantly mechanical, the
outcome is likely to struggle. However, many companies aren’t even sure which of these categories they fall into.
Cunningham offers a personality quiz that each employee, or in the very least the higher-ranking team members,
can take in order to determine where a company lies in terms of categories. The quiz is a 12-part questionnaire
that broaches topics about where budgets need to be increased, pricing strategies, and what qualities are sought
in employees, to name a few. With that information collected, the “genetic test results,” Cunningham places
companies into categories. She also asserts that many companies frequently fall into one dominant category
with several subcategories, allowing for various forms of approach in various departments.

Environment Plays a Role

While Cunningham unequivocally states that uncovering the core DNA of a company through her personality
test is essential for identifying the market position, she also suggests that many other factors play a large part
in the identification of a company at its center. Cunningham identifies the “six C’s” of positioning that can help a
company take an even closer look at determining an ideal marketing landscape. Uncovering how your company
fits into the six areas of positioning will also help yield a stance on a new position statement—a new overlook,
so to speak—for the company. But Cunningham gets even deeper than that. She offers ways to not just discover
a new position, but how to alter it once it is discovered, or even change what a company is at the core, if it proves
beneficial for the overall company.

sSix Areas of Positionings

As the author explains, these six different categories are all powered by the environment, the ecosystem
surrounding a company. They help highlight opportunities and areas of growth. Understanding these, and
understanding how your company responds to these, can help you pinpoint a stronger marketing niche that will
provide a gateway for greater success.

• Core—what is your company at its center?

• Category—what category does your product fit into? Are you creating a new category? Redefining one?
Joining an existing one?
• Community—who is your consumer? What drives their needs? Is the community sustainable?
• Competition—who and what is the competition? Will your product hold up against competition?
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• Context—what shapes the market? How will the product shape and adapt?
• Criteria—what are the standards of the company? What are the standards of the target consumer?
How do they relate? How do they differ?

By thoroughly understanding your company stance on the six C’s, you should be well-equipped to more accurately
fit the company into the marketplace. For example, one company Cunningham worked with was Synaptics, a
technology-based company that struggled to keep up with the ever-changing world around it. She used the six areas
of positioning, as well as genetic engineering and other tools to redefine its core, build a new position, and re-enter
the marketplace with a stronger foundation and new goals. Get to Aha! dips deeper into the meaning behind each
element at play, and helps apply it in real-time situations with an abundance of examples and relatable stories

sPositioning Statement and Elevator Letters

At this point in your process you’ve evaluated the market, successfully identified your core DNA, and worked
hard to recognize your company position. You must now construct two essential components for activation; a
position statement and an elevator letter.

The position statement, Cunningham explains, is a factual, sensible statement about your stance and relevance as
a company. The statement should be short, concise and reveal the DNA of the company, the “who are we” concept,
while delivering information about the qualities that set you apart from competition—the “why you matter”
concept. This is the statement presented to customers on websites, in magazines, and so on. Cunningham gives
a positioning statement example from Netflix, a company she believes delivers strongly in all marketing categories.
She praises the company’s statement which highlights how subscribers can tap into their favorite shows and
movies from any internet platform, day or night, free of commercial interruptions and fine print promises.

Your elevator story should be a statement that can articulate what your company does and why it matters—and
all of this should occur in the time it would take to ride an elevator, typically in well under a minute. This statement
should be clear and comprehensive; it’s the statement that gets pitched to investors and other companies. Netflix
again illustrates a strong representation of this by declaring that it’s the world’s most popular internet television
network, serving millions of viewers in dozens of countries around the world. It does so by providing countless
hours of movies and shows that include a wide range of genres, meeting all entertainment needs.

Cunningham goes into great detail, with excellent examples, about the differences and ways to create both the
statement and letter.

• Does it reflect company DNA?

• Does it pinpoint gray areas you want to conquer?
• Does it differentiate you from the competition?
• Does it address why you matter?
• Does it meet 75 percent of the criteria you wanted it to contain?

By addressing and answering these questions, you should be on your way to writing strong and accurate position
statements and elevator stories.
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sPutting it into Actions

Suppose everything has been done to take the next steps; the core DNA of your company has been revealed,
and the exact stance and relevance to the market, opportunities, competition and trends have been confirmed.
There is a clear role and it’s well articulated, and the message of your company is compelling. Now it’s time to
share all of this with the world, to get the ball rolling. Cunningham walks you through the ways in which you can
bring your company’s positioning to life by activating everything learned so far, and strive for the next big thing.

The first steps in prepping for activation are as follows:

• Support the company to market and assist the new position—does the website, blog, social media,
sales material, etc. align with the new position?
• Prep the market to understand and support the new positioning—do other companies and not-yet-
customers know of this shift?
• Sustain current customers, reassure them during this transition—communicate with loyal parties,
provide clear answers to any questions they might have, and be available and open.

Cunningham guides you through these steps to help ensure a concrete framework for getting your new position
activated in the marketplace.

sDNA Alterationss
Cunningham unearths various ways in which a company can identify and then reengineer its genetic core.
However, she warns that doing so is going against the genetic grain, so to speak, and that it’s always difficult and
sometimes unsuccessful to force such a drastic and unnatural change in a company. Cunningham uses the
example of Disneyland. In the planning stages of Disneyland, Walt Disney didn’t try to reinvent the wheel by
designing completely original, out-of-the-box elements for the park. Instead, he focused on what he could do to
make Disneyland the “happiest place on earth” for its patrons. If Disneyland, had changed its DNA from a Mother
to a Mechanic, it would have shifted the focus away from valued customers. The highlight wouldn’t have been
directed at families and building timeless memories, but instead would potentially highlight more efficient
parking lots or lines for rides. This, Cunningham states, would alter the entire Disneyland experience. Changing
a company’s organic DNA is doable, but according to the author, a risky move doesn’t always prove beneficial.

sThe Next Big Things

In Get to Aha! Cunningham pinpoints ways, and gives examples, to bring your current company, or new company,
to the marketplace as the next big thing. While having a big, charismatic personality is a strong driving force
behind taking the leap to the next level, it’s not necessarily required. Instead, having a vision and seeing the
possibilities about where a company can soar is more essential to success than a dominant personality. Patience,
leadership, the ability to inspire, and guts are what will take a unique idea to the playing field. As Cunningham
asserts “wimps don’t change the world.”
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sObserving the Results the Resultss

Cunningham devotes a significant portion of her book to the profound exploration of discovering how company
DNA really can lead a business or idea in a new direction. Inspiring, detailed examples from six varying companies
demonstrate the success of implementing newly uncovered DNA positioning.

Tile, a GPS tracking company, discovered it was a Mother company at its core, and learned to embrace that angle
which ultimately led to its success. Using the compassionate, customer-driven company DNA, Tile helped carve
a specific path by increasing its connection with consumers and establishing a leadership role in the market.

BuildingConnected is a company that unites builders and contractors via online profiles—think a LinkedIn
account for construction companies, so to speak. Cunningham explains how this concept was put into practice,
and how discovering being a Mother company changed communication between contractors, subcontractors,
and employees. It’s now a national player in the construction realm, and has successfully differentiated itself
from other companies in the market.

Addepar is a cloud-based platform for global wealth and finance investment markets. Its biggest hurdle was
finding a manageable way to bring the market up to speed, while articulating its value and relevance to
customers. Cunningham’s discussion on Addepar reveals how this Mechanical company successfully connected
business and family, and how the end results helped the company think big and prepare a vision for the next
several decades that should keep the business strong and ever-improving.

Using the example of Synaptics, a company creating and expanding on products that bridge the gap between
technology and its users, Get To Aha! explains how this Mechanical company found new relevance in a rapidly
growing industry, and how it was able to meet the ever-changing demands of the market by making face-to-face
interactions with customers a priority. This secured business with new clients and strengthened relationships
with current ones.

Retrotype Inc. is a pharmaceutical company attempting to spearhead new approaches to fighting common, yet
deadly, diseases. But this Missionary company was making little progress in gaining the attention and trust of
consumers and investors until it honed in on its core DNA and found a new position in the market. The new
position changed the course the company would take in the pharmaceutical industry. One way this breakthrough
happened was by partnering up with universities and other research groups, while keeping the big-picture goal
in mind: making medical progress and tearing down scientific barriers.

OpenGov is the first online, cloud solution to public sector budgeting and public engagement. However, this
Missionary company was finding it difficult to bring technology and trust into the realm of government. Now, it’s
flourishing at connecting citizens and municipalities in an online community that thrives in communication.
OpenGov managed to do this successfully by identifying that it needed to create marketing dominance and shake
up the scene, and this goal was reached in part by building and cultivating trust with ordinary citizens. Now,
people ask questions, post solutions, and host general municipal discussions via the cloud.

All of these companies worked closely with Cunningham to identify goals, obstacles, and solutions, and this all
happened by successfully establishing who each company was at the core of its DNA.
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Insights—Learn Your Stance, Control Your Market

Show commitment to change by identifying which

areas of your company need attention. Many workers,
CEOs, and owners believe they understand their com-
pany DNA, but are in fact misguided, off base, or sim-
Commit to Change ply need a new approach to revitalize business. Take
the time to evaluate where progress can be made, and
be receptive to the idea of change in the pursuit of
greater success and better quality.

Taking the time to thoroughly understand the core of

your company requires effort and teamwork. Identify-
ing the categories a company fits into is an investment
Put in the Effort that will undoubtedly pay off in the long run. Cultivate
an environment that encourages employees to partic-
ipate in uncovering your company DNA position. Make
it a collaborative journey for everyone involved.

Use the six different classifications—core, category,

community, competition, context, criteria—to deter-
mine the market environment that’s most ideal for your
company to dominate and flourish. Uncover a niche
that allows your business to really make its mark. Iden-
Examine Your Market
tify the edge that sets your company apart from
another, and find where in the market you best belong.

Devise a clear, concise position statement and elevator

letter about your company’s factual, rational role and
relevance in a highly competitive market. Know these
Develop Statements statements through and through. Everyone from rank-
and-file employees to CEO should be able to articulate
what your company position statement reflects.

Once the rational, logical aspects of your company

have been identified and solidified, only then can it
Put it All Together tackle the emotional, branding side. The two aspects
combined help your company move forward and flour-
ish within the desired market.
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Conclusion
The concepts and strategies on which the Get to Aha! framework is based can greatly assist any company in
learning how to better understand its own identity—its DNA. This helps prove a higher quality of service to
customers and provides a greater competitive edge in the marketplace, as well as functioning more successfully
internally. Cunningham goes above and beyond in her explanation of each step to take to achieve these various
goals. Get to Aha! provides clear, relatable directions to understanding, achieving and sustaining a stronger
business model in a highly competitive market.

“Companies are like people. They have DNA that is reflected in their behaviors. Just as knowing
who you are at your core enables you to be a better you, leaders who understand their
positioning DNA can use it to their advantage and be better at marketing and selling their products. ”
If you’ve enjoyed our insights on Andy Cunningham’s Get to Aha! Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your
Competition, we encourage you to access the other Get to Aha! assets in the Skillsoft library, or purchase the
hardcopy.

About the Author

ANDY CUNNINGHAM played a key role in the launch of the original Macintosh with Steve
Jobs. When Jobs left Microsoft, they continued to work together to build on his branding,
marketing and communication strategies for game-changing technology that would even-
tually be introduced to the public market. Since then, she has been an entrepreneur at
the forefront of marketing, branding, positioning, and communicating “The Next Big
Thing.” The founder and president of Cunningham Collective, a marketing and commu-
nication strategy firm, she has helped introduce a number of new categories, including
video games, personal computers, desktop publishing, digital imaging, RISC microproces-
sors, software as a service, very light jets, and clean tech investing. Cunningham is on
the corporate boards of Specialized Bicycle Components Inc, and RhythmOne. She’s also involved with The Aspen
Institute, ZERO1: The Art and Technology Network, which she founded in 2000 to help shape the future at the
crossroads of art and technology, and the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media and Inte-
grated Marketing Communications. She is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow and holds memberships in
WPO, CEO, TED and Women Corporate Directors. Cunningham graduated from Northwestern University. This is
her first book.

Get to Aha! Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition, by Andy Cunningham.
Copyright © 2018, McGraw-Hill, 272 pages, ISBN 978-1260031201.