Stop Selling Your Product. Start Selling How You Think with Simon Bowen

This episode changed how I see my own business.Most founders think their product is the thing they sell. It isn't. Your thinking is the real product.I sat down with Simon Bowen, founder of the Models Method and creator of the Genius Model, a system he's used for nearly 30 years to help founders and consultants turn complex expertise into visual frameworks that actually close deals. Simon's work spans 30 countries and industries from defense to one-on-one coaching, and he's spent his career helping people get out of their own heads long enough to see what they actually know.We get into why "uniqueness" is a trap in a world flooded with AI-generated marketing copy. Simon breaks down his framework for company genius: the 20% that's truly yours (your original perspective, shaped by your story) integrated with the 80% you've curated from everything else in your industry. We talk about why purpose doesn't make the sale, why the sale is made in the how, and Simon walks through a real example of finding "the ache," the deep, often unnamed problem underneath the problem a customer says they have.If you've ever struggled to explain what makes you different, or felt like imposter syndrome was creeping in because so much of what you do isn't "original," this conversation will change how you think about your own value.Build your founder brand with Mylance: https://mylance.coConnect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/00:00 Intro to Simon Bowen00:56 Simon's origin story02:35 Ideas start as a drawing04:10 Facilitating rooms that disagree05:24 The real Pareto principle06:44 Getting rooms to the breakthrough09:24 What is company genius10:09 Make me safe, help me win11:04 Why AI breeds sameness12:00 Thinking is the real product13:15 The founder's story as a lens15:13 The laundromat example begins18:03 Curate, create, integrate19:02 Imposter syndrome reframed20:28 Purpose, mechanics, and magic21:29 Consistency builds reliability22:15 Culture creates character23:13 The believability crisis25:12 Purpose doesn't make the sale26:55 The sale is made in the how28:44 What AI can't replace32:02 What the market really wants34:19 Introducing "the ache"36:02 The acne treatment example39:05 Three levels of problem40:59 Naming the ache42:00 Why founders forget their own ache44:34 Closing thoughts on business46:01 Business as the cornerstone of community48:37 Where to find Simon Bowen