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

1. Choose Category Design for Dominance

Consciously decide to design a new market category rather than competing in an existing one, as one company typically earns two-thirds of the value in a new category. This choice allows for potential dominance and higher economic returns compared to fighting for a small share of an established market.

2. Obsess Over the Problem

Shift focus from being obsessed with your solution or product to deeply understanding and obsessing over the problem you are trying to solve. This enables reframing the problem in new ways, leading to innovative category solutions.

3. Use Backcasting for Future Design

Employ “backcasting” instead of forecasting by envisioning a wildly successful future five years out, then working backward to identify the actions taken to achieve it. This method unshackles thinking from present and past constraints, fostering radical innovation.

4. Reframe or Solve New Problems

Understand that categories are born from problems; either solve an entirely new problem or radically reframe an existing one. People will only be open to a new solution if they perceive the problem in a fundamentally different way.

5. Design New Market Categories

Actively design a new market category to create a unique distinction in value for people that previously did not exist. This involves shaping the market itself, not just the product.

6. Continuously Expand Category Vision

Recognize that your current category can become a barrier to future growth once successful, as a company’s potential is limited by its market. Continuously expand and build upon your category vision to ensure sustained growth and avoid being niched.

7. Don’t Just Be “Better”

Avoid the “better trap” of launching a product that is merely an improved version of an existing solution for a known problem. The world embraces new solutions when they address a newly framed or entirely new problem, not just a “better” version of the old.

8. Prioritize Metacognition

Engage in “thinking about thinking” (metacognition) as the most crucial form of thought, especially in category design. This involves challenging your own assumptions and deeply understanding why you hold certain beliefs.

9. Practice Reflective Thinking

Differentiate between reflexive (automatic, unconsidered reactions) and reflective (deep, challenged self-inquiry) thinking. Actively challenge your own beliefs and assumptions rather than simply reacting with pre-existing opinions.

10. Legendary Entrepreneurs Design Future

Emulate legendary entrepreneurs by actively designing a different future, rather than assuming it’s a continuation of the past. Be so obsessed with a problem that its persistence drives you to create a new reality.

11. Reject Existing Premises

Actively “reject the premise” by discarding all existing assumptions and knowledge about a problem or solution. This unconstrained thinking opens the aperture for radically different possibilities and future designs.

12. Compete Against the Status Quo

Focus competition not on other products, brands, or companies, but on the existing “status quo” – the current way things are done. This involves demonstrating why the present solution is inadequate and leading people to a new way.

13. Seek Radical Differentiation

Aim for radical differentiation by breaking new ground and avoiding comparison with existing solutions or competitors. Legendary innovators strive to be irreplaceable by creating entirely new value, rather than just being “better.”

14. Define Problem and Solution Sets

Win by designing a market space and getting a significant portion of the world to adopt your unique definition of a problem set, which then naturally leads to the acceptance of your solution set. This establishes your company as the category leader.

15. Use Strategic Languaging

Employ “languaging,” the strategic use of language, to change people’s thinking and define your new category. Avoid using old terminology for new innovations, but also ensure new language is understandable, guiding the audience from current understanding to a new perspective.

16. Develop a Category Point of View

Craft a clear “point of view” (POV) that frames, claims, and names a problem, educating the world on why they should transition from the current way of doing things (“from”) to your new and different solution (“to”).

17. Own Category Languaging

Strive to be the company that defines and popularizes the new language for your category, as this is a key factor in winning the market. New language creates new thinking and new perceptions of value.

18. Balance Product, Company, Category

Recognize that building a legendary company requires getting product, company (culture, business model), and category design equally right and at the opportune moment. All three elements are of equal importance for success.

19. Prioritize Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Design your business strategy, especially category design, with Word-of-Mouth (WOM) as the primary execution focus, as it’s the most powerful marketing form. Combine lightning strikes and a compelling category point of view, targeting “super consumers” to generate viral WOM.

20. Target Super Consumers

Identify and target “super consumers” – the 8-10% of buyers who drive most profits and are thought leaders in your category. Focusing on these individuals amplifies your message and accelerates category adoption.

21. Execute Lightning Strike Marketing

Adopt a “lightning strike” marketing approach, focusing disproportionate effort on intense, short-term campaigns (e.g., 1-2 times/year for B2B, 2-3 for B2C) to be undeniable to your target audience. This contrasts with continuous, diluted “peanut butter” marketing.

22. Educate as a Marketer

Engage with your target community as an educator, not a marketer or seller, teaching them a new way to think about problems or introducing previously unconsidered ones. This approach fosters “aha moments” and genuine interest in your solution.

23. Dam Existing Demand

Employ the strategy of “damming the demand” by reframing existing needs to redirect customers from what they thought they wanted to a new, different solution. This involves interrupting current consumption patterns and changing perceptions of necessity.

24. Make Your Own Unique Place

If you don’t find a pre-existing “place” for yourself in the world, actively create one. Category design is fundamentally about making a distinct and unique place for yourself, your product, and your company, as those who are different make the biggest impact.

25. Ignore Naysayers, Pursue Exponential

Disregard negative criticism and “boo birds” when pursuing exponential innovation and making a significant difference. The current era is the best time to design and dominate new categories, and the future needs those with the courage to do so.

26. Embrace and Display Criticism

Actively display negative feedback about your work, as a way to have humor, normalize criticism for other creators, and avoid taking oneself too seriously. This approach helps overcome the fear of criticism inherent in innovation and creation.

27. Avoid Envy-Based Business Models

Reject business models that create a perception of superiority or monetize envy, such as those used by “hustle porn stars” or “influencers.” Instead, strive to be an educator who doesn’t create separation or position oneself as a leader above followers.

28. Pay Attention to Language

Consciously “listen to the words” used by customers and in the market, as this practice reveals insights that are often overlooked. Understanding language helps in crafting effective category design and communication.

29. Embrace Current Era for Impact

Recognize that the current historical moment offers unprecedented opportunities for creators, entrepreneurs, and marketers to make an exponential difference and build legendary careers. Leverage this unique time to innovate and create new value.

30. Share Your Success

Once you achieve significant success or reach a “mountain top,” actively help others by “throwing down a rope.” This means providing support and guidance to those who are still climbing or starting their journey.

31. Use “Is There Anything Else?”

In conversations, especially interviews or critical discussions, consistently ask “Is there anything else?” at the end. This powerful open question often uncovers the most important unsaid information or insights.

32. Ask “Are You Legendary?”

When interviewing, ask the provocative question, “Are you legendary?” to gauge a candidate’s self-perception, confidence, and how they respond to a challenging, open-ended inquiry about their own potential and impact.