Play Bigger - by Al Ramadan & Dave Peterson & Christopher Lochhead & Kevin Maney (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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.

From the Back Cover

What do Facebook, Google, Salesforce.com, Uber, VMware, Netflix, IKEA, Birds Eye, 5-hour Energy, and Pixar have in common?

In what way does Apple work like the 165-year-old glass company, Corning?

How do you explain why some start-ups last and build value while others shoot up and then flame out?

Why was Elvis not just the King, but a category king?

The key to each has to do with creating, developing, and dominating new categories of products and services.

Stick around and we'll tell you how that's done.

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.

It's not about disruption anymore--it's about creation. Category kings are the explosive and enduring companies that create value over time by opening up a category with vast potential and setting themselves up to control the majority of it. Category kings take seventy to eighty percent of the category's economics. Category kings become famous brands because they become the symbol of the whole category--think Xerox, Google, Uber. A category king is almost impossible to challenge. These are the companies that shape our lives and alter the future. They play bigger than other companies.

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 to change expectations and buying habits. While this discipline is crucial in the tech industry, it applies to every kind of industry and even to personal careers.

Review Quotes

"Every entrepreneur looking to alter the landscape and every CEO looking to reimagine their business can learn from this book. Play Bigger provides inspiration and a framework for building companies that transcend gravity." -- Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce

"Play Bigger is the new how-to guide for entrepreneurs and executives who want to build legendary, enduring companies." -- Jim Goetz, Partner, Sequoia Capital

"Business leaders of the future need to create movements with passionate employees and fans that change the world's point of view, not just companies with employees that sell products. Play Bigger shows how category design is the roadmap for making this happen." -- Mike Maples, Founding Partner, Floodgate

"Every entrepreneur who wants to take their game to the next level needs to read this book. Category design applies to sports governing bodies, event owners, national teams and even athletes." -- John Bertrand, Americas Cup winner, Olympic medalist

"Category design is a principle that every successful entrepreneur has intuitively embraced. Now it is outlined here in Play Bigger for all business executives to learn and apply. An absolute must read for every person interested in the secret sauce found in Silicon Valley." -- Ann Miura-Ko, Lecturer, Stanford University and Co-founder Floodgate Fund

"Play Bigger shows why it's so important to build category kings and what it takes to succeed in this new discipline of category design. This is must read book for all brand marketers, VC's, and board of directors who want to take market creation into their own hands" -- R "Ray" Wang, Principal Analyst & Founder, Constellation Research, Inc. Author Disrupting Digital Business

"This important work should be available to everyone thinking of pursuing a business career." -- Library Journal

"This is a very special book, and it will make a huge difference to businesses trying to understand how they can succeed initially and for the long term. Play Bigger ranks up there with Christensen's "Innovators Dilemma" and Moore's "Crossing The Chasm" as the three must-have books to succeed." -- Kathleen Goolsby, Managing Editor, SandHill.com

"a new spin on the 'something from nothing concept' ... Aimed at entrepreneurs, this book has practical advice for anyone in business." -- Booklist