stage-4-positioninglisted

Stage 4: positioning. Startable after V1 (customer words exist); finalized after V3 + R1 (paying commitment + promise scope). The component order is **mandatory, never reversed** — each depends on the previous; get #1 wrong and everything downstream is wrong. Load `method-rules`; read `state.json`. Template: the `stage-4-positioning-templates` skill. **Pre-product caveat (Dunford)**: what you produce here is a **positioning thesis** — an educated guess, expected to be partly wrong and revised once real customers arrive (Dunford: ~20 product launches, never guessed everything right). Don't tighten too early — tightening in the wrong spot can close off a good market. The artifact says "thesis" prominently. ## The chain (in order) 1. **Best customers** — from the pre-sell/commitment log: who understood fast and committed fast. Position from this group, never from the average. 2. **Competitive alternatives — from the ledger only.** What would these customers do if the product didn't exist? Usually "nothing", spreadsheets, an intern — sourced from evidence ids, NOT from the stage-1 research map. Cross-check the map's "customers actually mention it?" column and **eliminate phantom competitors** (theoretically competing, never actually considered — positioning against them dilutes everything). This is the most common failure point; be strict. 3. **Unique attributes** — what the product does that those real alternatives cannot (consistent with the R1 promise scope). 4. **Value & p