Christopher Lochhead, Friend to the Different, Category Design, Author & Pirate, Arrr The G&T Sessions

In this latest The G&T Sessions episode, Christopher Lochhead discusses the importance of category design and being different in business. He shares insights from his book 'Play Bigger' and emphasises the need for companies to create their own market categories rather than competing in existing ones. Lochhead also highlights the role of courage and originality in building legendary startups and brands. He challenges the notion of emulating successful companies like Apple and emphasises the importance of standing out and creating new paths. The conversation also touches on the epidemic of "samey" brands and the challenges of modeling new categories. This part of the conversation explores various examples of category design and the importance of standing out rather than fitting in. It discusses Google's failed attempts at category design with their products, as well as successful examples like Dude Wipes and Chirp. The conversation emphasises the need for bravery and courage in category design, as well as the desire to create a new and different future. It also highlights the importance of being an evangelist for a category and the criticism that often comes with it. In this episode, Christopher Lochhead discusses his experience writing books and mini books, including the Category Pirates series. He also mentions the possibility of creating category pirate swag and hosting an event. Lochhead emphasises the rise of the creative capitalist and the need to shift from being a knowledge worker to becoming a creator capitalist. He explains that the future belongs to those who can create net new value and capitalise on it. Lochhead concludes by encouraging listeners to think critically and embrace creativity and category design.


Chapters


00:00 Introduction and Studio Setup


01:26 The Man Cave in Santa Cruz


03:04 The Creation and Success of the Book 'Play Bigger'


06:49 The Courage to Be Different


10:10 Emulating Apple and the Importance of Originality


13:08 The Epidemic of Samey Brands


17:33 The Fear of Defining a New Path


19:03 The Mental Scaffolding of Competing to Win


21:45 The Category Makes the Brand


23:28 The Importance of Niching Down


25:57 Creating a New Market Category


30:00 The Challenges of Modeling a New Category


34:18 The Role of Planning and Finance in Playing It Safe


36:03 The Role of VCs in Betting on Radical Futures


37:01 The Example of Google's Gemini in the AI Market


37:33 Google's MeToo Product and Category Design


39:23 Google's Sunset of Google Podcasts


40:10 Google's Failed Attempts at Category Design


42:11 Dude Wipes: Niche Down and Category Design


46:19 Chirp: Combining Categories for Innovation


49:45 Category Design as a Fracture


53:05 Category Design as Problem Framing


56:00 Category Design as Ownership of a Problem


57:26 Category Designers as Evangelists


01:02:19 Different Wins, Better Loses


01:06:06 Bravery and Courage in Category Design


01:09:31 The Desire to Fit In and the Need to Stand Out


01:15:31 The Marriott Lobby Mentality


01:19:26 The Fear of Being Fired vs. Radical Differentiation


01:22:16 Writing Books and Mini Books


01:24:01 Category Pirate Swag


01:25:35 Hosting an Event


01:26:17 The Rise of the Creative Capitalist


01:30:05 The Future of Work


01:31:14 Becoming a Creative Capitalist


01:34:30 Embracing Creativity and Category Design


01:38:29 Concluding Thoughts


01:49:31 Getting in Touch with Christopher Lochhead