How to become a category pirate | Christopher Lochhead (author of Play Bigger, Niche Down, Category Pirates, more)

Brought to you by Mixpanel —Event analytics that everyone can trust, use, and afford | Vanta —Automate compliance. Simplify security | Round —The private network built by tech leaders for tech leaders — Christopher Lochhead is a 14-time #1 bestselling author, top podcaster, and former 3x public tech company CMO and has been an advisor to over 50 VC-backed tech startups. He is best known as a “godfather” of category design, and Adobe named his book Play Bigger one of “the five greatest marketing books of all time.” In this episode, we discuss:• What exactly category design is • The “Frame It, Name It, Claim It” framework • How to go about designing your category • Why “languaging” is so powerful • Rating yourself on the category design scorecard • Why Chris considers “product-market fit” a dangerous concept • Chris’s spicy take on positioning • The “better trap” and why it’s crucial to avoid it • The magic triangle of product, company, and category • How to embrace negative feedback • Why the greatest time in the history of innovation is now — Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-become-a-category-pirate-christopher — Where to find Christopher Lochhead: • Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lochhead • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlochhead/ • Website: https://www.categorypirates.com/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Chris’s background (05:08) Why Chris shares his negative criticism on his website (11:58) A simple explanation of category design (18:00) How Purell mastered category design (23:07) What Gong got right (and wrong) (29:01) The “better trap” and why it’s crucial to avoid it (38:51) Reflective thinking vs. reflexive thinking (44:45) How Lomi created a revolutionary solution for food waste (48:50) The “Frame It, Name It, Claim It” framework (49:08) The concept of “languaging” (54:00) Examples of languaging (59:19) Spend more time on the problem than the solution (1:01:37) The power of “backcasting” (1:07:33) The truth behind building legendary brands (1:10:39) The problem with product-market fit (1:16:11) Chris’s spicy take on positioning (1:19:20) “Damming the demand” (1:24:49) Laws from Chris’s book The 22 Laws of Category Design (1:29:46) Word of mouth: the most powerful form of marketing (1:34:05) Chris’s closing message to listeners (1:39:01) Lightning round — Referenced: • Rick Rubin Says Trust Your Gut, Not Your Audience: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rick-rubin-says-trust-your-gut-not-your-audience/id1570872415?i=1000606447333 • How to identify your ideal customer profile (ICP): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-identify-your-ideal-customer • Grant Cardone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrantCardone • Tai Lopez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tailopez • The Difference Between a First Mover and a Category Creator: https://hbr.org/2019/11/the-difference-between-a-first-mover-and-a-category-creator • Gojo Industries: https://www.gojo.com/ • Gartner reports: https://www.gartner.com/ • Forrester reports: https://www.forrester.com/bold • Gong: https://www.gong.io/ • Clari: https://www.clari.com/ • Threads, Instagram’s “Twitter Killer,” Has Arrived: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/05/technology/threads-app-meta-twitter-killer.html • Kevin Maney: https://kevinmaney.com/ • Red Bull cola: https://www.redbull.com/int-en/theorganics/organics-simply-cola • Microsoft Copied Apple’s Successful Retail Plan. Now It’s Shutting the Whole Thing Down: https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/microsoft-copied-apples-successful-retail-plan-now-its-shutting-whole-thing-down.html • A New Way to Think, with World’s #1 Management Thinker Roger Martin: https://lochhead.com/roger-martin/ • A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Management Effectiveness : https://www.amazon.com/New-Way-Think-Management-Effectiveness/dp/164782351X • RJ Scaringe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rjscaringe • Lomi: https://lomi.com/products/lomi • Otis elevators: https://www.otis.com/en/us • How to build a breakthrough … the secret of Backcasting: https://medium.com/@m2jr/how-to-build-a-breakthrough-3071b6415b06 • John Bielenberg’s website: https://www.thinknado.com/ • Eddie Yoon: https://www.eddiewouldgrow.com/ • Marc Andreessen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarca • Snow Leopard: How Legendary Writers Create a Category of One : https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Leopard-Legendary-Writers-Category/dp/1956934456 • Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets : https://www.amazon.com/Play-Bigger-Dreamers-Innovators-Dominate-ebook/dp/B015MOJ80G • Niche Down: How to Become Legendary by Being Different : https://www.amazon.com/Niche-Down-Become-Legendary-Different-ebook/dp/B07FLKJJQQ • The 22 Laws of Category Design: Name & Claim Your Niche, Share Your POV, and Move The World from Where It Is to Somewhere Different : https://www.amazon.com/Laws-Category-Design-Somewhere-Different/dp/195693457X/ • An inside look at Deel’s unprecedented growth | Meltem Kuran Berkowitz (Head of Growth): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/an-inside-look-at-deels-unprecedented-growth-meltem-kuran-berkowitz-head-of-growth/ • Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah : https://www.amazon.com/Illusions-Adventures-Reluctant-Richard-Bach/dp/0440204887 • What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School: Notes from a Street-Smart Executive : https://www.amazon.com/What-Teach-Harvard-Business-School/dp/0553345834 • Inventing Anna on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81008305 • The rise and fall and rise of Tony Eltherington: https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2017/04/27/rise-and-fall-and-rise-tony-eltherington — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/ . For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com . — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe