How Two Words Saved This Real Estate Company

Patrick McFadden • June 26, 2023

Recently, I stumbled upon a remarkable story that highlights the transformative impact of just two words in a small business owner's marketing message. It's a testament to the fact that every single word matters when it comes to effectively communicating your offerings to customers. This story sheds light on the power of customer research and the pervasive influence of the curse of knowledge.


Buying Some, Paying Rent On the Rest

Picture this: a small real estate agency providing an opportunity for home buyers to purchase 5% of their desired property while the company finances the remaining 95%. The initial marketing message was straightforward, "Buy some, rent the rest." However, despite the seemingly clear offer, it failed to convert prospects into customers.


Through diligent customer research, the business owner discovered an astonishing misunderstanding. Potential buyers interpreted the message as an indication that they would become landlords and rent out the remaining portion of the house to strangers. This misperception hampered their willingness to engage with the company.


Two simple words, strategically inserted, altered the entire narrative: "Buy some, 𝙥𝙖𝙮 rent 𝙤𝙣 the rest." Instantly, the intended message became crystal clear, resonating with prospective buyers who understood the true nature and problem the product solved. The impact was profound and immediate.


3 Key Lessons to Take Away From This:


#1. Every Single Word Matters:

This story reinforces the fundamental truth that every word in your marketing message carries weight and can significantly impact how it is perceived by your audience. It highlights the importance of carefully crafting your messaging to eliminate ambiguity and ensure clarity. Take the time to scrutinize each word, evaluating its potential implications and how it aligns with your intended message.


#2. The Unbelievable Power of Customer Research:

Understanding your customers' perspective is paramount. The business owner's breakthrough came from conducting thorough customer research, unveiling a misconception that had been hindering their success. By investing in customer research, you gain invaluable insights into their perceptions, needs, and pain points. These insights allow you to refine your messaging, align your offerings, and bridge any gaps between what you intend to convey and how your audience interprets it.


#3. Beware the Curse of Knowledge:

The curse of knowledge refers to the difficulty of imagining what it's like to lack the knowledge we possess. As experts in our field, we may unintentionally assume that our audience understands our offerings as clearly as we do. However, this assumption can lead to misunderstandings and missed opportunities. By recognizing and combating the curse of knowledge, we can ensure our messaging is accessible and relatable to our target audience.


Wrap Up

This captivating story reminds us of the profound impact that every word can have on our marketing efforts. It underscores the importance of customer research and the need to continuously seek a deep understanding of our audience. By eliminating ambiguity, leveraging the power of words, and challenging our own assumptions, we can refine our messaging and connect more effectively with our customers. Let this tale serve as a valuable lesson in the art of crafting compelling and clear marketing messages that resonate with our audience and drive meaningful engagement.


Contact Your Marketing Consultant at Indispensable Marketing

If you’re a small service based business that needs help with developing a powerful marketing message and showing up on the first page of search results on Google, Bing or Yahoo at Indispensable Marketing we can help. We offer marketing strategy consulting, marketing audits, monthly marketing packages, consultations, exploratory calls or monthly local SEO services. Contact us for more information.

The Missing Layer in AI: Why Judgment, Not Just Data, Will Define the Next Era of Intelligence

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
Everyone is scaling outputs. Almost no one is scaling judgment.

Everyone Talks About AI Judgment. We Built It.

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
Ask anyone in tech where AI is headed, and they’ll tell you: “The next leap is reasoning.” “AI needs judgment.” “We need assistants that think, not just answer.” They’re right. But while everyone’s talking about it, almost no one is actually shipping it. So we did. We built Thinking OS™ —a system that doesn’t just help AI answer questions… It helps AI think like a strategist. It helps AI decide like an operator. It helps teams and platforms scale judgment, n ot just generate output. The Theory Isn’t New. The Implementation Is. The idea of layering strategic thinking and judgment into AI isn’t new in theory. The problem is, no one’s been able to implement it effectively at scale. Let’s look at the current landscape. 1. Big Tech Has the Muscle—But Not the Mind OpenAI / ChatGPT ✅ Strength: Best-in-class language generation ❌ Limitation: No built-in judgment or reasoning. You must provide the structure. Otherwise, it follows instructions, not strategy. Google DeepMind / Gemini ✅ Known for advanced decision-making (e.g., AlphaGo) ❌ But only in structured environments like games—not messy, real-world business scenarios. Anthropic (Claude), Meta (LLaMA), Microsoft Copilot ✅ Great at answering questions and following commands ❌ But they’re assistants, not advisors. They won’t reprioritize. They won’t challenge your assumptions. They don’t ask: “Is this the right move?” These tools are powerful—but they don’t think for outcomes the way a strategist or operator would. 2. Who’s Actually Building the Thinking Layer™? This is where it gets interesting—and thin. Startups and Indie Builders Some small teams are quietly: Creating custom GPTs that mimic how experts reason Layering in business context, priorities, and tradeoffs Embedding decision logic so AI can guide, not just execute But these efforts are: Highly manual Difficult to scale Fragmented and experimental Enterprise Experiments A few companies (Salesforce, HubSpot, and others) are exploring more “judgment-aware” AI copilots. These systems can: Flag inconsistencies Recommend next actions Occasionally surface priorities based on internal logic But most of it is still: In early R&D Custom-coded Unproven beyond narrow use cases That’s Why Thinking OS™ Is Different Instead of waiting for a lab to crack it, we built a modular thinking system that installs like infrastructure. Thinking OS™: Captures how real experts reason Embeds judgment into layers AI can use Deploys into tools like ChatGPT or enterprise systems Helps teams think together, consistently, at scale It’s not another assistant. It’s the missing layer that turns outputs into outcomes. So… Is This a New Innovation? Yes—in practice. Everyone says AI needs judgment. But judgment isn’t an idea. It’s a system. It requires: Persistent memory Contextual awareness Tradeoff evaluation Value-based decisions Strategy that evolves with goals Thinking OS™ delivers that. And unlike the R&D experiments in Big Tech, it’s built for: Operators Consultants Platform founders Growth-stage teams that need to scale decision quality, not just content creation If Someone Told You They’ve Built a Thinking + Judgment Layer™… They’ve built something only a handful of people in the world are even attempting. Because this isn’t just AI that speaks fluently. It’s AI that reasons, reflects , and chooses. And in a world that’s drowning in tools, judgment becomes the differentiator. That’s the OS We Built Thinking OS™ is not a prompt pack. It’s not a dashboard. It’s not a glorified chatbot. It’s a decision architecture you can license, embed, or deploy— To help your team, your platform, or your clients think better at scale. We’ve moved past content. We’re building cognition. Let’s talk.

We Found the Missing Layer AI Has Been Waiting For

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
In every era of innovation, there’s a silent bottleneck—something obvious in hindsight, but elusive until the moment it clicks. In today’s AI-driven world, that bottleneck is clear: AI has speed. It has scale. But it doesn’t have judgment . It doesn’t really think . What’s Actually Missing From AI? When experts talk about the “thinking and judgment layer” as the next leap for AI, they’re calling out a hard truth: Modern AI systems are powerful pattern machines. But they’re missing the human layer—the one that reasons, weighs tradeoffs, and makes strategic decisions in context. Let’s break that down: 1. The Thinking Layer = Reasoning with Purpose This layer doesn’t just process inputs— it structures logic. It’s the ability to: Ask the right questions before acting Break down complexity into solvable parts Adjust direction mid-course when reality changes Think beyond “what was asked” to uncover “what really matters” Today’s AI responds. But it rarely reflects. Unless told exactly what to do, it won’t work through problems the way a strategist or operator would. 2. The Judgment Layer = Decision-Making in the Gray Judgment is the ability to: Prioritize what matters most Choose between imperfect options Make decisions when there’s no clear answer Apply values, experience, and vision—not just data It’s why a founder might not pursue a lucrative deal. Why a marketer might ignore the click-through rate. Why a strategist knows when the timing isn’t right. AI doesn’t do this well. Not yet. Because judgment requires more than data—it requires discernment . Why This Is the Bottleneck Holding Back AI AI can write. It can summarize. It can automate. But it still can’t: Diagnose the real problem behind the question Evaluate tradeoffs like a founder or operator would Recommend a path based on context, constraints, and conviction AI today is still reactive. It follows instructions. But it doesn’t lead. It doesn’t guide. It doesn’t own the outcome. And for those building serious systems—whether you’re running a company, launching a platform, or leading a team—this is the wall you eventually hit. That’s Why We Built Thinking OS™ We stopped waiting for AI to learn judgment on its own. Instead, we created a system that embeds it—by design. Thinking OS™ is an installable decision layer that captures how top founders, strategists, and operators think… …and makes that thinking repeatable , scalable , and usable inside teams, tools, and platforms. It’s not a framework. It’s not a chatbot. It’s not another playbook. It’s the layer that knows how to: Think through complex decisions Apply judgment when rules don’t help Guide others —human or AI—toward strategic outcomes This Is the Missing Infrastructure Thinking OS™ isn’t just about better answers. It’s about better thinking—made operational. And that’s what’s been missing in AI, consulting, leadership development, and platform design. If you’re trying to scale expertise, install judgment, or move from tactical to strategic… You don’t need a faster AI. You need a thinking layer that knows what to do—and why. We built it. Let’s talk.
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