Chris Gaebler

I’m the Chief Marketing Officer of Protegrity. In my spare time, I try to understand my daughters.

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

"Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable." - John Wooden

Stop letting the world tell you where you stand. You get to decide.

My favorite Wooden quote

[GREG ISENBERG @gregisenberg]

The 14 frameworks i used the most in 2023.

Sharing them in case it's helpful to any entrepreneur, multipreneur, or creator out there in 2024...

1. The Personal Board of Directors:

- Pick a diverse crew from all life areas: work, friends, spiritual, artists etc.
- Loop them into your own personal newsletter with max 12 people
- Mine is "friendsofgreg" – my personal think tank.
- Monthly updates to keep you top of mind
- Bounce off big decisions, career moves, life's puzzles.
- They're your soundboard, your perspective pool, your backup squad.

2. How to Make Decisions Quickly:

- Use the 2-minute rule for small decisions
- For bigger decisions, set a strict deadline
- Consult with a trusted advisor or mentor or chatbot
- Trust your gut - your intuition is often right

3. How to write copy that isn’t boring (and that sells):

- Don’t write copy, write stories
- Can be long or short, but must take you for a ride
- Focus entire story on the problem the customer has
- Share credibility
- Use inviting, warm words
- Create a clear call-to-action
- Invoke curiosity with open loops - Start a story, don’t finish it immediately.
- Use power words that trigger emotion - Words like “astonishing” or “jaw-dropping

4. How to avoid burnout:

- Avoid influencers who glamorize the grind
- Avoid screens when you can
- ~7h sleep
- Limit alcohol and caffeine
- Create boundaries from work. Unplug
- Take regular vacations
- Take regular “me time”
- Go for regular walks
- Eat well
-Practice mindfulness or meditation
- Schedule weekly hobby time, something non-work related that you love.

5. How to get your first 1000 community members:

- Decide on a community worth creating
- Establish a common goal of that community (learning X, doing Y)
- Build an audience first
- Convert audience into community (IG account into private Skool)
- Use community ambassadors

6. How to get your first 1000 customers:

- Do community “drops”, small microsites that spread the word
- Build an audience of 10000 people
- FOMO is your friend (exclusivity sells)
- Partner with communities to promote
- Go to your customers offline. Offline matters more than ever

7. How to sell a company:

- Spend some of your energy building allies at incumbents
- Get them excited about what you’re doing
- Make them feel invested and jealous
- Get them to ask if you’d be open to selling
- Profit $$

I've seen this strategy work for $10k-10B size deals

8. How to stay curious:

- Cold DM 1 interesting person per week and set up chat for Zoom/coffee. Learn about them
- Spend 20 minutes/month adding interesting Twitter follows and YouTube subs
- Stop yourself from being on auto-pilot when you feel like you are

9. The "Collaborative Contrast" Strategy:

- Partner with businesses or influencers that are in seemingly contrasting fields or niches.
- Create collaborative projects or campaigns that blend the strengths of both worlds in unexpected ways.
- This strategy can open up new audiences, create buzz due to its unconventional nature, and can lead to innovative products or marketing campaigns.
- You'll reach demographics outside your usual market and there is more alpha here

10. How to stay in touch

- Make a list of 10 people who you often forget to keep in touch with but care about
- Add them as fav contacts
- Call them when you’re walking to places. Try not to drive places that are less than 15 mins walking distance
- Use that time to call 'em❤️

11. The 'Anti-Solution' Marketing Approach:

- Instead of directly presenting your product as a solution, focus on the common pitfalls or mistakes your target audience makes.
- Educate them on these issues without immediately suggesting your product.
- Create content that builds awareness and establishes you as a thought leader.
- Introduce your product as a natural, almost inevitable solution to the problems you've highlighted.

12. The "Constraint Creativity" Framework:

- Deliberately impose constraints on a project or problem (e.g., time limits, budget cuts, resource restrictions).
- Use these constraints as a catalyst for creativity, forcing you to think outside the box.
- Document the process and solutions that emerge from these constraints.
- Apply these innovative solutions even in less restrictive contexts to foster efficiency and creativity.

13. The multipreneur framework

- Pick an underserved niche using tools like Reddit
- Be a solopreneur and go build a product
- Get to product/market fit ($10k-100k/month)
- Hire operator
- Repeat in new category

14. The "Echo Chamber Break"
- Approach:Actively seek out opinions, ideas, and perspectives that contradict or challenge your own.
- Engage with content (books, podcasts, articles) from outside your usual areas of interest or expertise.
- Participate in communities or groups that are not aligned with your typical social or professional circles.
- Use these diverse inputs to broaden your thinking, reduce confirmation bias, and spark new ideas.

That's it. Bookmark it if you'd like to remember.

Thoughts on these?

---

I'll do my 2023 year in review on my newsletter, sign up at https://t.co/FnIa1i7cVR

I'll share portfolio updates, holding company updates and my favorite things in 2023.

And follow me more @gregisenberg for more of this on X

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

"The courage to start.
The discipline to focus.
The confidence to figure it out.
The patience to know progress is not always visible.
The persistence to keep going, even on the bad days.

That's the formula."

— @shaneparrish

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

One of my favorite authors
“Being able to respond to the changing future is a good thing; being surprised by the changing future is not.”

—Annie Duke, via @PipDecks

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

Struggling with a cloud audit?
Sonrai's Cloud Access Intelligence Helps You Pass an Audit https://t.co/oB76rlDwhe

[Sonraí Security @SonraiSecurity]

Ha, love the 'soonicorns' ... we'll take that bet! We're on the ups!!!

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

Our very own CISO @EricKedrosky shares his insights. Listen to "Lessons Learned From the LastPass Attack" by Brilliance Security Magazine Podcast https://t.co/7ySyz0E9Pv

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

Your brand isn't the protagonist of your story — your customer is.

Put them in the shoes of the hero and focus on how your company can help them achieve their goals.

Your product is the magic red shoes, and your customer is Dorothy. 

—@PipDecks

[Sonraí Security @SonraiSecurity]

🚨 LAST GAME! 🚨

Get your final vote in to select the WINNER of Cyber Madness.

Which is the most overused (and annoying) buzzword?

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

With my daughter at a Lakers game in LA. Best gift ever. #lakeshowlive

[Sonraí Security @SonraiSecurity]

🔥It’s Day 1 of cyber madness hosted by Sonrai Security where YOU vote for the most overused (and annoying!) cybersecurity marketing term.🔥

Today’s competitors:
Zero Trust 🤝 Full Stack Platform

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

Attackers Don't Hack, They Log In. https://t.co/qr0Mdz2WFP This is a new post about the #lastpassbreach from @EricKedrosky Worth the read

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

Great article in @SCMagazine with input from our very own CISO, @EricKedrosky who references "Sonrai Security found that non-person identities (NPIs) outnumber human identities by a factor of 20 times."
https://t.co/4JM6LKuYIv

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

via @NYTimes https://t.co/DY0CobpgSu

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

A good lesson in marketing and understanding technology. From the great scientist and bongo drummer Richard Feynman:

"When you write things out in simple language, misunderstanding has no place to hide."

— @shaneparrish

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

"It almost always seems expensive to act with the long term in mind, which is why so few people do it."

https://t.co/e6zZkqY7h3

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

The most successful people I know follow a routine to ensure the most important projects get the time they need.
A Tiny Thought worth reading https://t.co/Tv0ZMFVnyk

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

@warriors 100% support of what Coach Kerr said at this press conference #EndGunViolence

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

Hi. Work can be hard and life can be really hard. I've seen the stress of work affect people.
Some of my fellow CMOs have given back. Mental Illness Awareness Month https://t.co/IgWAoXEsn5

[Chris Gaebler @Chris_Gaebler]

"Learn from the past but don’t hang on to it."

We are practicing Day 1 thinking at @logzio and it resonated. from the @farnamstreet Brain Food newsletter.

Read it here: https://t.co/jmep0mdphH