Voters: The One or Two Things That Win the Whole Game

In high-school debate, the final speaker gets three minutes against the opponent's seven. Answering every argument is impossible — so the winning tactic, "the Voter," reframes the whole debate: it all comes down to one or two key points that ought to decide the outcome — chosen, of course, where you are strongest. Win those and you win the debate, despite losing everything else. Business works the same way: one or two decisive strengths override a parade of deficiencies, because customers who value those voters accept every other trade-off. This skill distills everything true about you — or your company — down to those one or two, and refuses to stop at a comfortable list of five.

The mental model

What a voter is