If you are a Soloist, you are probably tired, angry, and demoralized at the current state of Marketing. Maybe a little disgusted, too. The conversation revolves around likes, impressions, shares, and better “performance.”

I don’t want to sound holier than thou.

I was part of this theatre too

In 2011, a young boy walked into a shady apartment in Pune, excited to start his first job in Marketing. It was a risk. I’d left a better paying job in market research and was gambling on Digital Marketing, because it seemed to align with who I am.

I grew up in India, with a mother who taught me the value of community — building relationships, being there for one another, almost unreasonably so. People love her for it. She has this innate ability to connect and stay connected.

I assumed marketing would let me do the same thing, just for brands: build real connections with real people.

But I was probably too optimistic

After the honeymoon phase settled, I was in for a shock. Most organizations did not care about connecting with their audience. The growth at all costs mindset, coupled with a scarcity mindset, pushed them to treat people as entries in an Excel sheet.

Rather than asking “Who did we connect with?” or “Who did we help?”, the conversations revolved around “How many likes did we get?” and “Did we even go viral?”

The same pattern repeated as I moved from one job to the next, one freelancing gig to another, continually struggling to find my place. A place where I could do work I’m proud of, without indulging in Marketing that would make my soul cry.

But things changed in 2024

I was working as a ghostwriter for Founders, helping bring their ideas into the digital world. And for the first time in years, I was actually happy. I even got to work with the great Jonathan Stark. He was the marketing manager for one of his clients, and I got to write under him, learning from him like a mentor. The people were wonderful.

Then one Friday, we published a post and went to sleep. Over the weekend it blew up. 2.7 million impressions. We were thrilled. And then… nothing. No tangible dent in the brand. Nothing moved.

You know what did move things? DMs. Quiet, one on one conversations where we shared what we actually thought. Those conversations did what 2.7 million impressions could not.

That’s when it sank in. Even here, with wonderful people and real skill, the underlying belief was unchanged. We were still chasing likes, still flexing engagement.

That was the final straw. Even a viral success left us empty handed. The problem was not my LinkedIn writing skills. It was the game itself.

I was done. I craved work that enabled connection. Instead of writing content that performs, what if I created conditions where my clients could share a message that connects?

I wasn’t the only one stuck

Everywhere I looked, people were struggling to stand out. On LinkedIn, online, everywhere. And the way they were trying to do it was by shouting their expertise, louder and more often. I felt no superiority watching this. I felt kinship. I was on the same journey.

Meanwhile, the thought leaders I actually admired, people like Seth Godin, Jonathan Stark, and Kim Scott, were playing a different game entirely. No shouting. No chasing. And somehow, more trusted than anyone.

Then it clicked.

The way out of the performative game was not shouting our expertise. It was finding the one idea underneath it. Our perspective. And the place to look was never out there, in competitor research or whatever is working this month. It was underneath what we already knew, the whole time.

Perspective Before Expertise.

I started helping people find their Big Idea. And in the process, I found mine.

Since then, I have worked with around 15 clients, helping them solidify what they actually think.

If you want to see this way of thinking in action, the best place is my newsletter. That is where my work lives, one idea at a time.