Play Bigger by Al Ramadan

I “read” Play Bigger during the week that produced the snowiest October in the recorded history of Colorado. The drive was slow. The fact that this one was so well written was very much appreciated as I crept along roads where the speeds more often exceed 80 miles per hour. 

Play Bigger is a book by three consultants who own and operate a firm by the same name, along with a former journalist who’d long known the trio. The book is built on the premise that successful companies today define their own categories and build a business (and products) that dominates that category. Want to be the next “category king” - that is, AirBnB, Amazon or Apple? Read on. 

The authors state emphatically that a new business should be concerned predominately with defining a new product or service category that they can then dominate— enjoying a first mover advantage (though being first isn’t required). As they persuasively argue, every other non-king business is simply scraping the plates after the category king is done feasting on the majority of the business. Why? Because consumers are drowning in complexity and choices. By setting the standard and expectation, and grabbing all the buzz (through a “lightning strike” event or 12), it becomes the king’s kingdom to lose. 

The book is really easy and intriguing listening. I let several favorite podcasts wither on the vine just to keep listening (though I did have to press pause for at least two long phone call sessions that couldn’t be missed). But to speed through the rest of the summary, I’ll note:

1. This is hard work... and isn’t for everyone. There will be detractors. Not all executives, boards or team members will have the stomach for king-making given the time, trials and trouble it requires. The bottom line may suffer and investors may grow clammy as a result. The authors have seen more than a few give up the work once well down the road.  Heavy hangs the crown, as they say.
2. You know most of the category kings: AirBnB. Apple. Amazon. But among those you likely don’t: Birdseye, which invented the category way back in 1924.
3. The group gets specific. If you’re hanging your own shingle or trying to innovate inside an existing business, the recipe for this work is laid plain. 
4. You need to do this work for yourself. It’s not just businesses that need to define and dominate their category. Those of us carrying an ID badge should do the same. We each have our own strengths, experiences, connections and ambitions. They frame this argument persuasively... and do so without ever saying “personal brand.” (It’s been at least three years since I could stomach an article on that topic.) 

Go back to the print edition for:

1. The last half of the book is where the authors disclose the recipe for this secret sauce. I’ll be going back to it at some point— and recommending it to a few entrepreneurs in my friend group and family. 
2. POV is critical. It’s not unlike a brand positioning statement (the seminal text by Ries and Trout comes up repeatedly). It’s the statement that focuses the organizations’ attention and future actions. 
3. The Corning story. The authors knew they were going to, and they did surprise me with the Corning story. They’re a category-defining monarchy. They’ve got the glass castles and Gorilla Glass to prove it.