Today I’m going to talk about religion and Trump en route to my key point. Bear with me.

The idea for this post started when I was listening to comedian Louis CK during a workout, and he mentioned the story of Jesus and the fig tree.

In this bible passage, Jesus is hungry and sees a fig tree. But it’s not fig season so there are no figs. He gets angry. He curses the tree, and it dies.

Like Louis CK, it’s hard for me to find a positive spin in this story. A guy is angry at a tree for not delivering fruit at a time when nature (ie his dad?) designed it not to deliver any. So he kills it, because He can.

For Louis CK, it’s a setup for a hilarious punchline, which I won’t ruin for you. (Watch here.)

It made me curious how you could see this story as reinforcing a positive view of Jesus. I Googled the story, and, no surprise, there are no shortage of scholars (“scholars”?) who, like birds making nests, carefully gather bits of story thread from across the biblical world to weave a comfortable perch for Jesus. In their view He’s just reminding people through this story that they shouldn’t make empty promises. That people shouldn’t look and act pious if they’re not.

Quite a leap from the facts of the case.

It reminds me of the MAGA folks who witnessed the storming of the Capitol by an angry mob and “arrived” at the conclusion that it was a friendly tour that makes their orange hero, what a surprise, look great.

Just like the bible birds, the conclusion was their departure point.

It’s the exact opposite of the scientific approach to start with fact and observation first.

These examples remind me of this: The scientific method is not a natural human instinct. Yet as founders that’s typically how we sell our products & services.

We tend to pitch our B2B value proposition like this: Here are 5 reasons why our product is clearly better than whatever you’re doing now. Therefore, you should change how you work. We also talk about “revolution” and “disruption” as though people like those things. They don’t.

But the fact is, every story is most impactful when we are telling the audience something they already believe.

So when you’re talking about your product, highlight belief that already anchors your audience and then tell them how your product/service will let them do that even better.

I’m working on a website for a company with a better way to test agricultural and industrial products for contamination. Now, companies already have testing procedures in place. They already think of themselves as responsible corporate citizens.

So to introduce this new, better solution, I’m not listing all the reasons why their current approach is inadequate. Instead, I tell them how fulfilling their brand promise just got easier, faster, and cheaper. In other words, I start from the belief that already anchors how they see their world.

Three more recent examples:

Hospital workflow software:

Conventional: “Our AI platform automates care coordination, reduces charting time by 40%, and eliminates errors.”

Better framing: “You deliver extraordinary care even with an impossible paperwork load. Our platform simply gives you more time for the work you became a clinician to do. Keep your process and your standards—now with fewer interruptions, less duplication, and more time with patients.”

Bank Fraud/Risk Scoring service:

Conventional: “Conventional risk tools are slow and inadequate. Our fraud-detection model catches 25% more anomalies and reduces false positives.”

Better: “You already protect millions of customers every day. We help you extend that vigilance even further—without slowing transactions or adding review overhead. Same mission, better outcomes.”

Non-Destructive Semiconductor Testing (NDT) Tools

Conventional: “Our imaging tool detects micro-defects your current inspection stack can’t even see. Legacy NDT is fundamentally flawed.”

Better: “You already run one of the most disciplined yield-protection processes on Earth. Our tool helps you defend that excellence at the next scale of complexity, so your existing workflow produces fewer surprises and higher-confidence output.”

Don’t expect your audience to change their beliefs. Feed them new facts that they can integrate into what they already believe.

Though what to do about those MAGA dead-enders who insist J6 was a celebration of democracy? Haven’t figured that out yet.