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Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets
The founders of a respected Silicon Valley advisory firm study legendary category-creating companies and reveal a groundbreaking discipline called category design.
Winning today isn’t about beating the competition at the old game. It’s about inventing a whole new game—defining a new market category, developing it, and dominating it over time. You can’t build a legendary company without building a legendary category. If you think that having the best product is all it takes to win, you’re going to lose.
In this farsighted, pioneering guide, the founders of Silicon Valley advisory firm Play Bigger rely on data analysis and interviews to understand the inner workings of “category kings”— companies such as Amazon, Salesforce, Uber and IKEA that give us new ways of living, thinking or doing business, often solving problems we didn’t know we had.
In Play Bigger, the authors assemble their findings to introduce the new discipline of category design. By applying category design, companies can create new demand where none existed, conditioning customers’ brains so they change their expectations and buying habits. While this discipline defines the tech industry, it applies to every kind of industry and even to personal careers.
Crossing The Chasm revolutionized how we think about new products in an existing market. The Innovator’s Dilemma taught us about disrupting an aging market. Now, Play Bigger is transforming business once again, showing us how to create the market itself.
Winning today isn’t about beating the competition at the old game. It’s about inventing a whole new game—defining a new market category, developing it, and dominating it over time. You can’t build a legendary company without building a legendary category. If you think that having the best product is all it takes to win, you’re going to lose.
In this farsighted, pioneering guide, the founders of Silicon Valley advisory firm Play Bigger rely on data analysis and interviews to understand the inner workings of “category kings”— companies such as Amazon, Salesforce, Uber and IKEA that give us new ways of living, thinking or doing business, often solving problems we didn’t know we had.
In Play Bigger, the authors assemble their findings to introduce the new discipline of category design. By applying category design, companies can create new demand where none existed, conditioning customers’ brains so they change their expectations and buying habits. While this discipline defines the tech industry, it applies to every kind of industry and even to personal careers.
Crossing The Chasm revolutionized how we think about new products in an existing market. The Innovator’s Dilemma taught us about disrupting an aging market. Now, Play Bigger is transforming business once again, showing us how to create the market itself.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published June 14, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
June 13, 2016
BEGIN AT CHAPTER TEN
Yes, that’s right—begin reading PLAY BIGGER at Chapter Ten, “How You Can Play Bigger.”
What?? It’s not because the first nine chapters are bad—not at all. There are a ton of ideas in this book--written by a TEAM of authors. I struggled to clearly see the main points. But--If you first go through Chapter Ten (then start the book at the beginning) you will have a “roadmap” of the main themes of the book. You will be miles ahead.
PLAY BIGGER is an interesting perspective on how to become a huge “game changer” in your field. The authors call this creating a “New Category.” Throughout the book, they emphasize that you want to do something DIFFERENT—not just something BETTER. “The most exciting companies create. They give us new ways of living, thinking, or doing business, many times solving a problem we didn’t know we had—or a problem we didn’t pay attention to because we never thought there was another way.”
There is a huge advantage to being "different" compared to better. Something that is different has an “exponential value of different versus the incremental value of better.”
These game changers are called “Category Kings. These kings "create entirely new categories of business, or entirely new ways of doing things.” For example, the big startup Uber is not just a better taxi service—they created a business quite bit different, because they gave a new solution to a current problem: “Uber made all of us aware that we had a taxi problem—and that the problem had a new solution.”
There is something in this book so special, that if you just got this one idea, you have made a good investment. Here it is:
“You can position yourself, or you can be positioned.”
You can be at the mercy of business—getting pushed around a “positioned,” or you can be the one doing the positioning. The authors tell a funny story about how Dave discovered he was being positioned. “Dave discovered then that Christopher was making ten times more than he was.” So, he complained to Christopher. “Christopher, as only Christopher can, looked at Dave with a straight face and said, “Well, Dave, you have two choices in business and in your career. You can position yourself, or you can be positioned. And I’ve positioned myself as a CMO in this company, and you’ve been positioned as the lowest person on the totem pole.”
Ha! Well said. One person was on the bottom being “positioned” by the one at the top, who happened to make 10x more money.
Even outside business strategy, think of different versus better: “When thinking about your personal category strategy, always remember different versus better. When you seek better, you are moving into someone else’s territory, always fighting for attention and having to prove that you’re better. When two people say, “I’m the best,” one of them is lying. When you seek different, you aren’t climbing someone else’s ladder—you’re building your own ladder.”
Of course, this book is written by a TEAM of authors; in most places that works, but sometimes the ideas are not presented in the clearest fashion. The authors have chosen to use personal stories and anecdotes as a way to present concepts. This is okay, but I found myself wishing they would sometimes just say their points clearly, without so much storytelling.
Nevertheless, I think the ideas presented in PLAY BIGGER are worth some digging and pondering. So all in all, I thought the ideas PLAY BIGGER are genuine and insightful. As noted above, the recommendation on getting “Positioned” is outstanding.
Advanced Review Copy courtesy of Edelweiss Book Distributors.
Yes, that’s right—begin reading PLAY BIGGER at Chapter Ten, “How You Can Play Bigger.”
What?? It’s not because the first nine chapters are bad—not at all. There are a ton of ideas in this book--written by a TEAM of authors. I struggled to clearly see the main points. But--If you first go through Chapter Ten (then start the book at the beginning) you will have a “roadmap” of the main themes of the book. You will be miles ahead.
PLAY BIGGER is an interesting perspective on how to become a huge “game changer” in your field. The authors call this creating a “New Category.” Throughout the book, they emphasize that you want to do something DIFFERENT—not just something BETTER. “The most exciting companies create. They give us new ways of living, thinking, or doing business, many times solving a problem we didn’t know we had—or a problem we didn’t pay attention to because we never thought there was another way.”
There is a huge advantage to being "different" compared to better. Something that is different has an “exponential value of different versus the incremental value of better.”
These game changers are called “Category Kings. These kings "create entirely new categories of business, or entirely new ways of doing things.” For example, the big startup Uber is not just a better taxi service—they created a business quite bit different, because they gave a new solution to a current problem: “Uber made all of us aware that we had a taxi problem—and that the problem had a new solution.”
There is something in this book so special, that if you just got this one idea, you have made a good investment. Here it is:
“You can position yourself, or you can be positioned.”
You can be at the mercy of business—getting pushed around a “positioned,” or you can be the one doing the positioning. The authors tell a funny story about how Dave discovered he was being positioned. “Dave discovered then that Christopher was making ten times more than he was.” So, he complained to Christopher. “Christopher, as only Christopher can, looked at Dave with a straight face and said, “Well, Dave, you have two choices in business and in your career. You can position yourself, or you can be positioned. And I’ve positioned myself as a CMO in this company, and you’ve been positioned as the lowest person on the totem pole.”
Ha! Well said. One person was on the bottom being “positioned” by the one at the top, who happened to make 10x more money.
Even outside business strategy, think of different versus better: “When thinking about your personal category strategy, always remember different versus better. When you seek better, you are moving into someone else’s territory, always fighting for attention and having to prove that you’re better. When two people say, “I’m the best,” one of them is lying. When you seek different, you aren’t climbing someone else’s ladder—you’re building your own ladder.”
Of course, this book is written by a TEAM of authors; in most places that works, but sometimes the ideas are not presented in the clearest fashion. The authors have chosen to use personal stories and anecdotes as a way to present concepts. This is okay, but I found myself wishing they would sometimes just say their points clearly, without so much storytelling.
Nevertheless, I think the ideas presented in PLAY BIGGER are worth some digging and pondering. So all in all, I thought the ideas PLAY BIGGER are genuine and insightful. As noted above, the recommendation on getting “Positioned” is outstanding.
Advanced Review Copy courtesy of Edelweiss Book Distributors.
October 14, 2017
If you don't usually read Marketing Strategy books - maybe is useful.
Anything that makes you think about how to differentiate and how to position in the market is useful.
but I've seen all of this before...
in 1997 on the 2nd law of All Ries and Jack Trout - the Law of the category.
then in all marketing books talking about competition is for losers, and you should create a new market/category/...
Then it came Blue Ocean Strategy in 2004/2005 - all over again - find/create your Blue Ocean (aka category/market)
Should have been a blog post and not a book - is just too shallow and repetitive.
I don't see enough research - just talks about a few companies and tries to fit the "model" to them - risking confusing description with prescription - you observe and you can build a model to describe, but you cannot assume is prescriptive until you prove that it works.
trivia:
- it mentions Salesforce 54 times, Marc Benioff (Salesforce CEO) 63 times
- it says that Elvis created rock-and-roll - I don't believe that is accurate.
- says Snapchat is a category king (-40% value since IPO ?! 😬 )
- it tries to say that is not disruption but then describes Salesforce evolution using exactly what a disruptive technology does (according to Clayton Christiansson)
Anything that makes you think about how to differentiate and how to position in the market is useful.
but I've seen all of this before...
in 1997 on the 2nd law of All Ries and Jack Trout - the Law of the category.
then in all marketing books talking about competition is for losers, and you should create a new market/category/...
Then it came Blue Ocean Strategy in 2004/2005 - all over again - find/create your Blue Ocean (aka category/market)
Should have been a blog post and not a book - is just too shallow and repetitive.
I don't see enough research - just talks about a few companies and tries to fit the "model" to them - risking confusing description with prescription - you observe and you can build a model to describe, but you cannot assume is prescriptive until you prove that it works.
trivia:
- it mentions Salesforce 54 times, Marc Benioff (Salesforce CEO) 63 times
- it says that Elvis created rock-and-roll - I don't believe that is accurate.
- says Snapchat is a category king (-40% value since IPO ?! 😬 )
- it tries to say that is not disruption but then describes Salesforce evolution using exactly what a disruptive technology does (according to Clayton Christiansson)
February 4, 2018
This book will be among my top recommendations to any startup founder.
The author's framework for creating categories (not just products) is super solid: from simple questions (aim to be different, not better) to big picture (aligning category, org, etc design efforts) to very tactical advice ("lightning strikes" as a launch tool).
The real life stories were well researched, and non-obvious (like the backstory of energy shot products in US store check-outs; the rise and fall of Flash products for Macromedia, from category perspective). Special points for getting the facts behind Skype example right. :)
As only critique, the book could be easily about 30% shorter without losing anything, really. Too many meta-references ("as we'll be talking in the next chapter") and chapter fillers for my taste.
The author's framework for creating categories (not just products) is super solid: from simple questions (aim to be different, not better) to big picture (aligning category, org, etc design efforts) to very tactical advice ("lightning strikes" as a launch tool).
The real life stories were well researched, and non-obvious (like the backstory of energy shot products in US store check-outs; the rise and fall of Flash products for Macromedia, from category perspective). Special points for getting the facts behind Skype example right. :)
As only critique, the book could be easily about 30% shorter without losing anything, really. Too many meta-references ("as we'll be talking in the next chapter") and chapter fillers for my taste.
June 14, 2019
3.5 stars.
This book is what you get when you combine Innovator's Dilemma, Crossing the Chasm, and 22 Laws of Marketing, add a dash of Purple Cow and apply it specifically to tech startups. That's not to say it isn't useful to combine ideas from all those books but it certainly isn't original.
The essential ideas in the book seem to stem from category theories popularized by Al Ries and Jack Trout. Their core ideas are:
- People often think product when they should be thinking catergory
- If you're introducing a product in a new category, promote the category not your product
- The winner of a category usually earns the majority of the profits for the entire category
- Brands become very sticky once they are perceived as #1 in a category
- Keep slicing categories until you find a category you can be #1 in
The authors of Play Bigger took those ideas, applied them in a startup setting and created an actionable(ish) guide to implementing category design.
This book is what you get when you combine Innovator's Dilemma, Crossing the Chasm, and 22 Laws of Marketing, add a dash of Purple Cow and apply it specifically to tech startups. That's not to say it isn't useful to combine ideas from all those books but it certainly isn't original.
The essential ideas in the book seem to stem from category theories popularized by Al Ries and Jack Trout. Their core ideas are:
- People often think product when they should be thinking catergory
- If you're introducing a product in a new category, promote the category not your product
- The winner of a category usually earns the majority of the profits for the entire category
- Brands become very sticky once they are perceived as #1 in a category
- Keep slicing categories until you find a category you can be #1 in
The authors of Play Bigger took those ideas, applied them in a startup setting and created an actionable(ish) guide to implementing category design.
October 26, 2019
Don't like it when books writes lesson learnt for business as lessons for humans. Definitely there are different dynamics, as identified by the authors. But the difference, I felt, were not satisfactorily addressed. Other than that, I felt that it oversimplified success and underplayed risks of lightning strikes. There were no plans for recovery, only that you should invest all your resources on it. I do like the different perspective on designing the product market fit. Just felt it was an over simplification of it.
June 30, 2019
The caveat with many business books is that they are written to teach you a concept, but rarely do they tell you how to apply that concept. I am pleased to say that Play Bigger is not one of those books.
The authors of Play Bigger set out to take the idea of “Category Design” to the mainstream - the fact that “Category Design”, at its core, is not actually a new concept makes Play Bigger a fantastic example of the idea itself. The importance of a business differentiating themselves within a crowded space is not a novel concept in Marketing. However, by slapping a name on this thesis, Play Bigger has become the “Category King” of “Category Design”
“Better leads to a faster horse; different leads to a Model T.”
The biggest success in Play Bigger is that it not only sells the concept, but provides a practical guide to building something different, not just better. I found a number of tidbits that I would be able to directly action within my role, which differs from the majority of business books that leave me asking “yes but how do I apply this concept?”. For that reason, this is a book that I will undoubtedly refer to again - in my opinion a high compliment.
My biggest criticism is that I felt many of the examples used to be quite generic. How many other books out there feature Apple, Amazon, Salesforce, Uber, Tesla and AirBnb - basically ALL of them. I believe there to be other compelling examples of “Category Kings” and fantastic “Category Design” beyond these predictable success stories that are analyzed ad nauseam.
The authors of Play Bigger set out to take the idea of “Category Design” to the mainstream - the fact that “Category Design”, at its core, is not actually a new concept makes Play Bigger a fantastic example of the idea itself. The importance of a business differentiating themselves within a crowded space is not a novel concept in Marketing. However, by slapping a name on this thesis, Play Bigger has become the “Category King” of “Category Design”
“Better leads to a faster horse; different leads to a Model T.”
The biggest success in Play Bigger is that it not only sells the concept, but provides a practical guide to building something different, not just better. I found a number of tidbits that I would be able to directly action within my role, which differs from the majority of business books that leave me asking “yes but how do I apply this concept?”. For that reason, this is a book that I will undoubtedly refer to again - in my opinion a high compliment.
My biggest criticism is that I felt many of the examples used to be quite generic. How many other books out there feature Apple, Amazon, Salesforce, Uber, Tesla and AirBnb - basically ALL of them. I believe there to be other compelling examples of “Category Kings” and fantastic “Category Design” beyond these predictable success stories that are analyzed ad nauseam.
September 10, 2021
Great initial introduction to the topic of building monopolies and defending against new startup challengers ("be different not better"). Lite and easy writing style make it very easy to understand.
However may be a bit too superficial for some readers as many examples used you have seen before.
Example of writing style chapter 9 "if you are category king the flywheel will take care of itself"
However may be a bit too superficial for some readers as many examples used you have seen before.
Example of writing style chapter 9 "if you are category king the flywheel will take care of itself"
August 4, 2022
Book club for work
May 25, 2017
Focuses on the importance to define a new category and dominate that category companies. Simply competing in an existing category isn't good enough. The authors look to category kings, and how in recent cases (and even some old instances like frozen vegetables), founders set out to create entirely new categories, and how this separates itself in the consumers mind. But key to this is effective communication on why the consumer needs this new category. Thought it was a good read and had strong points, but think it underplayed the process and ease with which how one could come up with the category (which is understandable since it would be unique in each case, but the book didn't address in much depth about how difficult that portion obviously is).
May 29, 2019
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: How to Be Seen and Heard in the Overcrowded Marketplace, by Al Ries and Jack Trout, was the marketing mental mind map of their time.
Now is the time to Play Bigger. The thoughts herein consume the mind of the Pirate, Dreamer and Innovators. This is the treasure map to meaning and mattering.
Give up on marketing, let go of positioning: Play Bigger.
Don't market.
Matter.
Now is the time to Play Bigger. The thoughts herein consume the mind of the Pirate, Dreamer and Innovators. This is the treasure map to meaning and mattering.
Give up on marketing, let go of positioning: Play Bigger.
Don't market.
Matter.
September 9, 2019
This book’s core insight is good, and its examples are helpful. That means a lot coming from me, as this genre is the saddest bunch of middlebrow palaver on Earth. For every very good book (I can think of like three of four standouts), there’s a hundred pretenders. Maybe that’s true of all genres, but there’s something about the pretension of business and leadership gurus of the preening multihyphenated LinkedIn influencer realm that is truly desperate and loathsome.
November 29, 2016
This is book is basically Blue Ocean Strategy for the 21st century. It's a big idea, but it's not a new idea: don't just win your category, create a new category. It has vulgar language for the fun of cussing (lost a star for that with me) and took way too long to make each point (lost another star for that). The executive summary would have been ideal.
July 24, 2016
This is a pretty bold thesis; to forego playing at the same level as your rivals, and instead forge your *own* category and become the category king. This is unlike any business development book I've come across to heard about.
October 31, 2017
The main premise of this book is this idea of "category kings" who are companies who come in and create a category where none existed before. The book leans heavily on big corporations like Apple and Salesforce to drive this point home. An example on how they created the category would be Salesforce taking CRM online. Previously companies had to invest millions in installing expensive CRM software on every computer they operated. Salesforce created a new category by putting a CRM online and having a monthly subscription based model to access it, saving companies millions of dollars while making Salesforce a billion dollar category king.
If you are interested in the history and business aspects of how this kind of thing works, you'll find this book interesting. I was engaged with the book and learned a lot from it from this perspective, I just don't know how useful this book would be for everyday application to the common businessperson. I definitely don't think this is some groundbreaking marketing book or anything. If you are trying to start your own category king kind of company and are looking to pitch to Silicon Valley investors this book would be useful. In other words the application of this book would only apply to a very specific group of individuals.
If you are interested in the history and business aspects of how this kind of thing works, you'll find this book interesting. I was engaged with the book and learned a lot from it from this perspective, I just don't know how useful this book would be for everyday application to the common businessperson. I definitely don't think this is some groundbreaking marketing book or anything. If you are trying to start your own category king kind of company and are looking to pitch to Silicon Valley investors this book would be useful. In other words the application of this book would only apply to a very specific group of individuals.
April 12, 2018
Prologue: "Better leads to a faster horse; different leads to a Model T."
Sometimes slightly messy, repetitive. For some, might feel like overselling and shallow.
For me, the book had very insightful reflections on how to look at the things happening and especially at the new beginnings.
Do not read this book if:
1. You think the company with the best product wins.
2. You believe there is room for a lot of winners in a market, that a rising tide lifts all boats and other feel-good hippy garbage.
3. You’re okay with being good enough.
4. You’re afraid to lean forward on your skis while you’re already going 80 miles per hour downhill.
5. You’re an engineer who thinks marketing is what you do when you have a bush-league product.
6. You’re a classically trained marketer who thinks reach and frequency win the game.
7. You believe heady competition is the deal.
8. You think an IPO is just a financial event.
9. You think you’re not in the technology business and never will be, so you don’t think tech industry dynamics apply - you know, the way the taxi industry used to think.
10. You work ad SAP.
Need more insights, feel free to review others, or just grab the book!
Sometimes slightly messy, repetitive. For some, might feel like overselling and shallow.
For me, the book had very insightful reflections on how to look at the things happening and especially at the new beginnings.
Do not read this book if:
1. You think the company with the best product wins.
2. You believe there is room for a lot of winners in a market, that a rising tide lifts all boats and other feel-good hippy garbage.
3. You’re okay with being good enough.
4. You’re afraid to lean forward on your skis while you’re already going 80 miles per hour downhill.
5. You’re an engineer who thinks marketing is what you do when you have a bush-league product.
6. You’re a classically trained marketer who thinks reach and frequency win the game.
7. You believe heady competition is the deal.
8. You think an IPO is just a financial event.
9. You think you’re not in the technology business and never will be, so you don’t think tech industry dynamics apply - you know, the way the taxi industry used to think.
10. You work ad SAP.
Need more insights, feel free to review others, or just grab the book!
November 27, 2022
This book came so highly recommended, I probably had too high of an expectation. I was expecting more of a "how to" and this is more idea driven.
If I had read this before some of the other business/marketing books I think it would be a game changer, but the core premise of "different, not better" is something I've picked up elsewhere and use in my client work.
The metaphors used throughout the book seemed like odd choices, felt like at times like a direct response piece (salesy) and others the tone shifted.
The examples throughout the book do make it stand out, they do a very good job of showing examples of companies doing the actions they discuss.
The last chapter focuses on applying this work to yourself, in like a "personal brand." I was not expecting this, but it was something I was thinking about as I made my way through the book.
A very good read for early stage entrepreneurs, or people who want to be an entrepreneur in the future.
If I had read this before some of the other business/marketing books I think it would be a game changer, but the core premise of "different, not better" is something I've picked up elsewhere and use in my client work.
The metaphors used throughout the book seemed like odd choices, felt like at times like a direct response piece (salesy) and others the tone shifted.
The examples throughout the book do make it stand out, they do a very good job of showing examples of companies doing the actions they discuss.
The last chapter focuses on applying this work to yourself, in like a "personal brand." I was not expecting this, but it was something I was thinking about as I made my way through the book.
A very good read for early stage entrepreneurs, or people who want to be an entrepreneur in the future.
August 2, 2019
There’s SO much to love about this book. It’s well written, makes some brilliant points, and in the idea of the ‘category’ brings together some of the best innovation and marketing thinking of recent years.
But.
It may be written by a team, but culturally this book is monolithic. Every word of every page reeks of macho Silicon valley surfer-dude. Their language is casually sexist – category king, strike master controller – and their metaphors straight from the pages of Boys’ Own: lightning strike, hijacks, pirates. Almost every single example they draw upon is from a male leader, and they work on the assumption that every company founder is intent on domination and then possibly a sale to Google at peak valuation. I imagine them all lounging round after a hard day’s surfing, drinking beer, talking tech and swapping phrases like ‘Go big or go home’ as they planned it.
That lack of diversity has an oddly deadening effect: the exemplars they cite are limited in the main to giants like Apple, Google and Amazon who featured on pretty much every page with a smattering of other examples such as Salesforce and Corning (which was really only included, it turns out, because of its association with Apple). This overreliance on outliers is a serious flaw: the principles extrapolated from them may not necessarily be useful to the rest of us. The authors seem stuck in a trap of their own making: on the one hand they’re trying to establish their own category and get this new methodology – ‘Category is the new strategy’ – accepted by business thinkers , which means evidencing it in established companies and through business history, and on the other hand they’re writing a playbook for implementation. It can feel like a crisis of identity.
And yet there are some superb points in this book. Here are just three insights that particularly struck me:
• Better is not just not the same as different, it’s the opposite. The most famous articulation of this principle is of course Henry Ford’s assertion that ‘If I’d asked people what they wanted, they’d have said “Faster horses”’ (and they milk that for all it’s worth), but it’s still an excellent point, and perhaps the most pernicious element of the ‘gravity’ against which all really meaningful innovation must battle.
• Successful new categories need new ecosystems – and that might include competitors. That’s why Elon Musk gave away his patents to kickstart the electric car category. If you’re to be successful, you need to identify the partners and enablers who will put in place the infrastructure that will make your vision reality.
• The value of your company is not only related to its turnover and assets: what investors look for is headroom. When a company establishes a new category and crowns itself king, the future potential is enormous, and that can be reflected in seemingly crazy valuations. Top-line potential is more exciting to investors than bottom-line results.
The book ends brilliantly with an invitation to apply category creation and design thinking to your own career: get clear on your POV (‘point of view’, or as the rest of us call it, story) and the problem you’re solving.
And as a book coach and publisher, I loved how they talk about how writing this book was such a revelation for them: it forced them into their own category design process, making them articulate the problem they’re solving and what’s distinctive about their approach, bringing clarity and cohesion to their POV. The publication of the book was in their terms a ‘lightning strike’, the focused event that breaks through the noise. It’s a great description of why writing a business book is a solid business activity, whatever your category.
But.
It may be written by a team, but culturally this book is monolithic. Every word of every page reeks of macho Silicon valley surfer-dude. Their language is casually sexist – category king, strike master controller – and their metaphors straight from the pages of Boys’ Own: lightning strike, hijacks, pirates. Almost every single example they draw upon is from a male leader, and they work on the assumption that every company founder is intent on domination and then possibly a sale to Google at peak valuation. I imagine them all lounging round after a hard day’s surfing, drinking beer, talking tech and swapping phrases like ‘Go big or go home’ as they planned it.
That lack of diversity has an oddly deadening effect: the exemplars they cite are limited in the main to giants like Apple, Google and Amazon who featured on pretty much every page with a smattering of other examples such as Salesforce and Corning (which was really only included, it turns out, because of its association with Apple). This overreliance on outliers is a serious flaw: the principles extrapolated from them may not necessarily be useful to the rest of us. The authors seem stuck in a trap of their own making: on the one hand they’re trying to establish their own category and get this new methodology – ‘Category is the new strategy’ – accepted by business thinkers , which means evidencing it in established companies and through business history, and on the other hand they’re writing a playbook for implementation. It can feel like a crisis of identity.
And yet there are some superb points in this book. Here are just three insights that particularly struck me:
• Better is not just not the same as different, it’s the opposite. The most famous articulation of this principle is of course Henry Ford’s assertion that ‘If I’d asked people what they wanted, they’d have said “Faster horses”’ (and they milk that for all it’s worth), but it’s still an excellent point, and perhaps the most pernicious element of the ‘gravity’ against which all really meaningful innovation must battle.
• Successful new categories need new ecosystems – and that might include competitors. That’s why Elon Musk gave away his patents to kickstart the electric car category. If you’re to be successful, you need to identify the partners and enablers who will put in place the infrastructure that will make your vision reality.
• The value of your company is not only related to its turnover and assets: what investors look for is headroom. When a company establishes a new category and crowns itself king, the future potential is enormous, and that can be reflected in seemingly crazy valuations. Top-line potential is more exciting to investors than bottom-line results.
The book ends brilliantly with an invitation to apply category creation and design thinking to your own career: get clear on your POV (‘point of view’, or as the rest of us call it, story) and the problem you’re solving.
And as a book coach and publisher, I loved how they talk about how writing this book was such a revelation for them: it forced them into their own category design process, making them articulate the problem they’re solving and what’s distinctive about their approach, bringing clarity and cohesion to their POV. The publication of the book was in their terms a ‘lightning strike’, the focused event that breaks through the noise. It’s a great description of why writing a business book is a solid business activity, whatever your category.
June 1, 2023
Definitely my new favorite business book. **In part because it’s skimable but not skippable… about as dense as chicken broth, but equally fundamental.**
First, it explains that innovation happens by being different, not by being better.
Second, is conceives of “innovation” as a strategic concept, not just as something that happens. You conceive of what a future world might look like, and then use that to guide and enable innovation, not the other way around.
E.g.
A socially networked world ==> Facebook
A world of mobile smart phones ==> Apple
A world of one click transportation ==> Uber
Etc.
By “thinking bigger” early on, it is easier to align your company, your customers, your investors, and the public before anything actually happens. By defining some future world, a company is inevitably positioned as the “king” of that future world.
This concept of innovation as strategy is applicable beyond the world of business as well. Thinking bigger early on can help guide the actions you take in your personal career/goals.
The book is ~50% “how to think bigger” and ~50% a theory for why some companies grow so huge so quickly.
First, it explains that innovation happens by being different, not by being better.
Second, is conceives of “innovation” as a strategic concept, not just as something that happens. You conceive of what a future world might look like, and then use that to guide and enable innovation, not the other way around.
E.g.
A socially networked world ==> Facebook
A world of mobile smart phones ==> Apple
A world of one click transportation ==> Uber
Etc.
By “thinking bigger” early on, it is easier to align your company, your customers, your investors, and the public before anything actually happens. By defining some future world, a company is inevitably positioned as the “king” of that future world.
This concept of innovation as strategy is applicable beyond the world of business as well. Thinking bigger early on can help guide the actions you take in your personal career/goals.
The book is ~50% “how to think bigger” and ~50% a theory for why some companies grow so huge so quickly.
January 3, 2024
I expected a lot more data about the greater capital efficiency and margin defensibility that accrues to market share leaders over multiple capital market cycles. Instead this book contained a lot of stories that made for an easy read, but lacked the type of analytical rigor that I had hoped for. The statement — “category kings, once established, are almost impossible to displace” — is true only for a certain subset of businesses with traditional moats like high barriers to entry, high barriers to scale, switch costs, or network effects. But it is definitely untrue of businesses with mere technological advantages like FitBit or VMWare.
December 17, 2018
I am currently doing market research and think I have discovered a problem that needs solving. This book along with "Building a StoryBrand" have helped clarify how to educate the market on the problem they have.
February 16, 2021
so empty
March 18, 2023
This should be on every founders personal bookshelf.
June 4, 2018
Wasn't sure what I was in for but I do know my brain hurts from all the thinking and notes taken for solid new ideas.
Read at your own risk!
Read at your own risk!
May 11, 2019
Every couple years, I pick up a business book like this one. I’m always hoping to be pleasantly surprised...I find most business and self help books to *feel* amazing in the moment, but to be pretty forgettable mere days later.
To its credit, Play Bigger does two things better than most business books. First, the core insight is pretty good (more on this in a moment). Second, the book offers concrete, clear steps that companies can follow (ex: write this blueprint, this point of view document, distribute it to these people, in this order, etc.). It’s refreshing for a book in this genre to lay things out cleanly, rather than only using abstract platitudes throughout.
The book’s core insight is essentially that the best, most enduring companies don’t simply do something better than anyone else. Rather, they do something radically *different,* creating a brand new category that customers didn’t even know they wanted. Many examples will sound familiar: Uber developing a new kind of ride sharing, Airbnb rethinking how we travel, Apple fundamentally shifting how we think about mobile phones.
The book does a good job drawing out why this works, mixing real-world examples and general advice for would-be entrepreneurs. The thinking here goes a step beyond a catchy phrase—it’s a thoughtful analysis.
Unfortunately, that’s where the book’s good attributes end.
The first big problem is style. Written by four dudes (with one of the four acting as the main writer), the book oozes a tired, uninspired, testosterone-laden voice throughout. All of the metaphors and snarky asides here were already getting old in the 90s. In 2016 (or 2019, when I read it), they’re downright embarrassing. Nearly every section is needlessly bookended by a sarcastic or “tough guy” comment. I assume this is meant to keep things engaging, but is just makes the writers sound obnoxious. There are tons of beer jokes, a boatload of sports cliches, and various condescending emphases like “anyone with a brain knows...” It’s exhausting.
Then there’s the fact that the book is just so male, from start to finish. To my recollection, the authors never feature a female inventor, entrepreneur, or business person in any of their dozens of real world examples. In a later chapter, they cite more personal examples of role models. Once again, it’s all men.
To be clear, I’m not saying the book or its authors are sexist. I think they wrote these examples in good faith. And it’s true that tech in general is very male-heavy. But reading this book, you get the feeling the authors didn’t even realize how much of an old boys club this book was becoming. For a book about innovating and doing things in wildly different ways, the cast of (male) characters on display here is awfully conventional.
(The book does do one thing to be more inclusive: every time the book refers to a hypothetical CEO, it uses a “she” pronoun. This is a fine first step, but it strikes me as the absolute least important way to incorporate diverse thinking. It’s a checkbox move, not a demonstration of truly diverse thought or analysis.)
Finally, the book is too long. The first 25% involves too much throat-clearing, too many repeated examples meant to get readers excited about their big insight. Only once we get to the tangible steps in the 2nd section does the book lose the fat and start to earn its page count.
Unlike with the bro style and lack of women, the authors at least seem self-aware about this last issue. They acknowledge they are repeating certain themes, and they go out of their way to provide helpful summaries at the end of each chapter (I didn’t mind these). But being aware of a problem is just the first step. Next time, I hope they nail the execution too.
To its credit, Play Bigger does two things better than most business books. First, the core insight is pretty good (more on this in a moment). Second, the book offers concrete, clear steps that companies can follow (ex: write this blueprint, this point of view document, distribute it to these people, in this order, etc.). It’s refreshing for a book in this genre to lay things out cleanly, rather than only using abstract platitudes throughout.
The book’s core insight is essentially that the best, most enduring companies don’t simply do something better than anyone else. Rather, they do something radically *different,* creating a brand new category that customers didn’t even know they wanted. Many examples will sound familiar: Uber developing a new kind of ride sharing, Airbnb rethinking how we travel, Apple fundamentally shifting how we think about mobile phones.
The book does a good job drawing out why this works, mixing real-world examples and general advice for would-be entrepreneurs. The thinking here goes a step beyond a catchy phrase—it’s a thoughtful analysis.
Unfortunately, that’s where the book’s good attributes end.
The first big problem is style. Written by four dudes (with one of the four acting as the main writer), the book oozes a tired, uninspired, testosterone-laden voice throughout. All of the metaphors and snarky asides here were already getting old in the 90s. In 2016 (or 2019, when I read it), they’re downright embarrassing. Nearly every section is needlessly bookended by a sarcastic or “tough guy” comment. I assume this is meant to keep things engaging, but is just makes the writers sound obnoxious. There are tons of beer jokes, a boatload of sports cliches, and various condescending emphases like “anyone with a brain knows...” It’s exhausting.
Then there’s the fact that the book is just so male, from start to finish. To my recollection, the authors never feature a female inventor, entrepreneur, or business person in any of their dozens of real world examples. In a later chapter, they cite more personal examples of role models. Once again, it’s all men.
To be clear, I’m not saying the book or its authors are sexist. I think they wrote these examples in good faith. And it’s true that tech in general is very male-heavy. But reading this book, you get the feeling the authors didn’t even realize how much of an old boys club this book was becoming. For a book about innovating and doing things in wildly different ways, the cast of (male) characters on display here is awfully conventional.
(The book does do one thing to be more inclusive: every time the book refers to a hypothetical CEO, it uses a “she” pronoun. This is a fine first step, but it strikes me as the absolute least important way to incorporate diverse thinking. It’s a checkbox move, not a demonstration of truly diverse thought or analysis.)
Finally, the book is too long. The first 25% involves too much throat-clearing, too many repeated examples meant to get readers excited about their big insight. Only once we get to the tangible steps in the 2nd section does the book lose the fat and start to earn its page count.
Unlike with the bro style and lack of women, the authors at least seem self-aware about this last issue. They acknowledge they are repeating certain themes, and they go out of their way to provide helpful summaries at the end of each chapter (I didn’t mind these). But being aware of a problem is just the first step. Next time, I hope they nail the execution too.
May 11, 2018
Define the category, not the product.
Companies that were not the first in their space, but the first in their category:
Google (Google: “Provides access to the worlds information in one click.”; spot on results- far better than anything else; gathered data; redefined search - maps, etc; changed ads - auction style), FB, Apple (many new categories), Tesla, 5 Hour Energy (defines energy drink - quick shot and wake up), Salesforce (1% equity to charity, practice corporate responsibility, emotional connection to customers), GoPro (exciting video - adventure; people feel they are part of culture, ppl posting videos online and showcasing their adventures), Starbucks (3rd place between work and home; defined items w new names - Coffee is now “Double Grande nonfat Latte”), Minivan (family vehicle); Uber; Netflix
Palm PDAs:
POV: $300/piece (very little for this tech at the time) ‘Most competition believes the reason these devices aren’t selling is the lack of appropriate features. Palm believes the reason they aren’t selling is the devices aren’t simple enough.’
Redefined PDA category: ‘Connected organizers’
Birth of tablet.. Steve Jobs and iPad release:
1. Picture of iPhone and MacBook w “?” in between.
2. ‘Is there room for a third category of device in the middle?’ -Jobs
3. Dismissed past efforts, saying: “they were just bad laptops”
4. ‘There has to be room in our lives for a device that is so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smartphone’ -Jobs
5. Showed iPad
6. ‘The iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive, and fun way than ever before.’
—Made us see that we had a problem and that Apple had the best solution ever. Created a new category and put iPad at the top of it from Day 1. Creating Category was Apple’s strategy - everyone now thinks of iPad when they think of tablet.
Key Points:
-An early company that solves the problem becomes an anchor in customers’ minds
-Once a few customers see you as king, they spread it to other customers and they all see you as king.
-CEO job: change how people think about category
-Companies should employe Category Designers (draws similarities to book saying should have a job titled Entrepreneur) - build where nothing yet exists
-Words should describe category not product
-Create a POV - defining truths about the company, category, values - ‘Bold’ decisions, how employees act, if you succeed what will the world look like: Salesforce - “End of software” (POV is a story of how founders got to a-ha point): Salesforce (POV: End of software)
-Make POV religion; don’t just send it out in an email; Amazon rereleases w each earnings report; have new employees recite it in front of everyone else - Make it a contest
-Tell a story
-Words for items: Starbucks coffee names
-Drive values home: Amazon: “We will make bold rather than timid decisions”
-Have a LIGHTNING strike - focus completely on getting it out; create your own event (Apple, FB); networking event; hijack larger company’s PR
-Words matter, the names of products and features can change how people value them - Automobile dealers no longer sell “used cars” they sell “preowned vehicles” - Hard for congress to vote against something called the “Patriot Act”
-
Companies that were not the first in their space, but the first in their category:
Google (Google: “Provides access to the worlds information in one click.”; spot on results- far better than anything else; gathered data; redefined search - maps, etc; changed ads - auction style), FB, Apple (many new categories), Tesla, 5 Hour Energy (defines energy drink - quick shot and wake up), Salesforce (1% equity to charity, practice corporate responsibility, emotional connection to customers), GoPro (exciting video - adventure; people feel they are part of culture, ppl posting videos online and showcasing their adventures), Starbucks (3rd place between work and home; defined items w new names - Coffee is now “Double Grande nonfat Latte”), Minivan (family vehicle); Uber; Netflix
Palm PDAs:
POV: $300/piece (very little for this tech at the time) ‘Most competition believes the reason these devices aren’t selling is the lack of appropriate features. Palm believes the reason they aren’t selling is the devices aren’t simple enough.’
Redefined PDA category: ‘Connected organizers’
Birth of tablet.. Steve Jobs and iPad release:
1. Picture of iPhone and MacBook w “?” in between.
2. ‘Is there room for a third category of device in the middle?’ -Jobs
3. Dismissed past efforts, saying: “they were just bad laptops”
4. ‘There has to be room in our lives for a device that is so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smartphone’ -Jobs
5. Showed iPad
6. ‘The iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive, and fun way than ever before.’
—Made us see that we had a problem and that Apple had the best solution ever. Created a new category and put iPad at the top of it from Day 1. Creating Category was Apple’s strategy - everyone now thinks of iPad when they think of tablet.
Key Points:
-An early company that solves the problem becomes an anchor in customers’ minds
-Once a few customers see you as king, they spread it to other customers and they all see you as king.
-CEO job: change how people think about category
-Companies should employe Category Designers (draws similarities to book saying should have a job titled Entrepreneur) - build where nothing yet exists
-Words should describe category not product
-Create a POV - defining truths about the company, category, values - ‘Bold’ decisions, how employees act, if you succeed what will the world look like: Salesforce - “End of software” (POV is a story of how founders got to a-ha point): Salesforce (POV: End of software)
-Make POV religion; don’t just send it out in an email; Amazon rereleases w each earnings report; have new employees recite it in front of everyone else - Make it a contest
-Tell a story
-Words for items: Starbucks coffee names
-Drive values home: Amazon: “We will make bold rather than timid decisions”
-Have a LIGHTNING strike - focus completely on getting it out; create your own event (Apple, FB); networking event; hijack larger company’s PR
-Words matter, the names of products and features can change how people value them - Automobile dealers no longer sell “used cars” they sell “preowned vehicles” - Hard for congress to vote against something called the “Patriot Act”
-
March 12, 2024
[Update 3/12/2024]
After reading Jack Trout & Al Ries’s positioning and category creating books (precursors to Blue Ocean Strategy), I’ve found most of the content in this one to be a rehash — a subpar rehash at that.
12/9/2019
Introduction to the concepts of category kings and category design. Not entirely “new” ideas per se (the term ‘category killer’ has been in R&D circles forever) however ‘king’ is a much more fitting label — as is ‘owning’ rather than ‘killing’ a category. Also, differentiation is great, but what the book fails to mention is that being different AND better is what’s key to success (otherwise you’ll end up with the Takeshi 69’s of the world).
Minor faults aside, what this book does do is to explain these concepts very well and to provide strong (and current) supporting case study data. Silicon Valley’s “winner take all” secret seems to be the new norm in business the world over — caused by hyper -connectedness, massive leverage through technology, and globalization (essentially, the rise of inequality).
Particularly loved the section about story and POV – which is what so many brands are severely lacking these days in our overly-PC times (hard to be differentiated if you’re just another faceless, me-too competitor or also-ran). Great companion to Thiel and Jim Collins’ books – each fills in the gaps and complements each other quite well.
After reading Jack Trout & Al Ries’s positioning and category creating books (precursors to Blue Ocean Strategy), I’ve found most of the content in this one to be a rehash — a subpar rehash at that.
12/9/2019
Introduction to the concepts of category kings and category design. Not entirely “new” ideas per se (the term ‘category killer’ has been in R&D circles forever) however ‘king’ is a much more fitting label — as is ‘owning’ rather than ‘killing’ a category. Also, differentiation is great, but what the book fails to mention is that being different AND better is what’s key to success (otherwise you’ll end up with the Takeshi 69’s of the world).
Minor faults aside, what this book does do is to explain these concepts very well and to provide strong (and current) supporting case study data. Silicon Valley’s “winner take all” secret seems to be the new norm in business the world over — caused by hyper -connectedness, massive leverage through technology, and globalization (essentially, the rise of inequality).
Particularly loved the section about story and POV – which is what so many brands are severely lacking these days in our overly-PC times (hard to be differentiated if you’re just another faceless, me-too competitor or also-ran). Great companion to Thiel and Jim Collins’ books – each fills in the gaps and complements each other quite well.
November 1, 2016
Book explains how important is for a company to focus on Category design, POV and other actions following it to place the company as a category king. Authors took examples from successful tech companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Salesforce and UBER picked their category and stayed on top of it.
Books like Innovators and 'Seeing what next' explains how important is to innovate and continuous integration is important for an organization. In this book they have framed terminology like Category King - Category design - POV - Lightening strikes - Mobilization - Flywheel - Continuous category creation - Category Harvesting and made that as a process.
Books like Innovators and 'Seeing what next' explains how important is to innovate and continuous integration is important for an organization. In this book they have framed terminology like Category King - Category design - POV - Lightening strikes - Mobilization - Flywheel - Continuous category creation - Category Harvesting and made that as a process.
August 4, 2018
meh. there is some basic truth in it, but content is mostly derivative to peter thiel and co., their approach is reductionist and rather shallow, and their constant call for witch hunt within a company during critical phases is just ridiculous.
also, a foot note, their self boasting for macromedia "success" is hilarious. i think pretty much every software engineer hated them and their products for almost a decade. and they still boast themselves as a "category king". and that's exactly the problem with their approach, if one try long enough, they can crown themselves in any made up category, regardless of the reality of a situation
also, a foot note, their self boasting for macromedia "success" is hilarious. i think pretty much every software engineer hated them and their products for almost a decade. and they still boast themselves as a "category king". and that's exactly the problem with their approach, if one try long enough, they can crown themselves in any made up category, regardless of the reality of a situation
March 8, 2021
Started with a lot of promise but I actually checked the marketing and what some of the companies mentioned did.. and what they say in the book just doesn’t happen, and didn’t seem to ever happen.
Also bothered me that on personal failures they kept blaming external reasons and not their own mistakes
Also bothered me that on personal failures they kept blaming external reasons and not their own mistakes
October 22, 2016
Great at explaining category design and laying out steps to try to do this.
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