Posts by Christopher Lochhead
190 How To Have A Legendary Career In Marketing with Ryan Alford of The Radcast
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On this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, we have a very special episode with one of my favorite marketers, Ryan Alford.
Ryan Alford runs a digital marketing agency called Radical Marketing. He also has a great marketing podcast that I’ve been stoked to be a guest on called The Radcast, which is a top 25 Business and Marketing podcast. He’s just one of those guys I like talking about marketing with.
Today, we are going to talk about how to have a legendary marketing career. We also talk about why it is that many people in Marketing don’t view what they do as a craft that they’re working on their whole lives, and what happens when you do so.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
Ryan Alford on Marketing Careers and Current Industry Trends
Christopher and Ryan discuss the appeal of marketing careers, especially for younger individuals.
Ryan, with 20 years of experience, emphasizes the importance of creative thinking and adaptation in the face of industry changes like AI. He believes marketing offers opportunities for innovation and creativity, essential for standing out amidst a crowded field.
Christopher adds that many marketers don’t view their work as a craft, but rather as a job or set of skills, contrasting it with master surfboard shaping. Ryan, drawing on his own experience, sees marketing as a craft that requires honing skills over time, akin to his father’s craftsmanship. Both agree that when you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.
Ryan Alford on Marketing Skills and Adapting to Platform Changes
The two then discuss the evolving landscape of marketing skills and the need for adaptability. They highlight the importance of curiosity, continuous learning, and embracing change in navigating the industry’s shifts.
With the proliferation of digital platforms, they emphasize the challenge of staying updated and the risk of relying too heavily on platforms beyond marketers’ control. Despite these challenges, they underscore the enduring power of innovative ideas to capture attention and drive success. Christopher also cautions against shallow tactics focused solely on grabbing attention without meaningful content, using the wind feather in car dealerships and mall entrances as an example.
They advocate for a balance between leveraging new platforms and maintaining focus on substantive messaging to achieve marketing goals effectively.
Ryan Alford on Marketing Strategies and Generating Outcome
Christopher and Ryan discuss the importance of marketing strategies producing meaningful outcomes rather than mere attention-grabbing tactics. They emphasize the necessity of tying marketing efforts to revenue generation, highlighting the distinction between visibility campaigns and those that drive sales.
Ryan stresses that successful marketers focus on moving consumers from one perception to another, ultimately leading to sales.
They acknowledge the controversy surrounding this viewpoint, especially among marketers who resist being held accountable for tangible results.
Both agree that marketing is for those who embrace accountability and are committed to producing revenue, with Christopher noting that marketing allows for creative ideation that triggers sales, contrasting with the more direct approach of salesmanship.
To hear more from Ryan Alford and learn how to have a legendary career in Marketing, download and listen to this episode.
Bio
Links
Connect with Ryan Alford!
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Lochhead on Marketing™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on iTunes!
345 Learned Excellence: Legendary Lessons from Navy SEALs, CEOs, Pro Athletes & Big Wave Surfers with Dr. Eric Potterat & Alan Eagle
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This episode is exclusively for people who want to have a personal breakthrough in their own performance. And who better to discuss it with but with people who have learned excellence, Dr. Eric Potterat & Alan Eagle.
Alan Eagle is an executive Communication Coach, and he spent 16 years working with a top people at Google. He’s written several other books, and his most well-known for his celebrated book, “Trillion Dollar Coach” about the legendary Silicon Valley coach Bill Campbell.
Dr. Eric Potterat is a clinical and performance psychologist, and he was with the US Navy for over 20 years as a commander. On the last 10 years of Eric’s career. he was the head psychologist for the US Navy SEALs globally.
To say that these two know a little bit about how the top performers in the world do what they do is a radical understatement. And on this episode, we get into all of it, we pop the hood to go deep on their new book learned Excellence, which I highly recommend you pick up a copy of.
You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go.
Dr. Eric Potterat and Alan Eagle on Maintaining One’s Mental Health in a Chaotic World
Christopher, Alan and Dr. Eric opens the discussion on how they maintain their mental health with all the crazy things happening around all of us.
Christopher highlights the overwhelming challenges globally, from political divisiveness to wars and rising anti-Semitism. Dr. Eric emphasizes the importance of focusing on what individuals can control, citing attitude, effort, and behavior within their circle. Alan adds that staying informed is crucial, but he discourages excessive complaining, urging people to think about actionable steps rather than mere criticism.
“I can’t stand the complainers. Okay, if you’re going to take a position, great! Then I would think through, “what can you do?””
– Alan Eagle
The three then get into how the struggle of balancing engagement with the world and avoiding emotional overload, especially in the face of potentially troubling events in the upcoming years.
Dr. Eric Potterat and Alan Eagle on Mindset, Organizational Culture, and Sustained Excellence in Baseball
Christopher, Alan, and Dr. Eric then talk about maintaining a good mindset in spite of challenges along the way.
Dr. Eric talks about the concept of agency, and how to distinguish between victims, survivors, and thrivers, advocating for the latter by practicing agency and embracing post-traumatic growth.
Alan underscores the importance of choosing a mindset and shares his experience with the Dodgers, highlighting the team’s systemic approach and organizational mindset. Dr. Eric credits the Dodgers’ sustained excellence to a focus on hiring talented individuals, providing necessary tools, and maintaining a process-oriented approach.
Process and Mental Toughness in Entrepreneurship
They then discuss the crucial role of process and mental toughness in entrepreneurship. Christopher draws from Michael Gerber’s “The E Myth,” highlighting how successful franchises attribute their triumph to well-defined processes, contrasting with small businesses’ failure due to a lack of systematic approaches.
Dr. Eric identifies process as a pillar of mental toughness, emphasizing its role among the five pillars discussed in their book.
Alan Eagle also shares insights from Silicon Valley, underscoring the balance between process and visionary chaos at Google, which contributed to its innovative success.
To hear more from Dr. Eric Potterat and Alan Eagle on how to learn excellence, download and listen to this episode.
Bio
Eric Potterat, PhD, is a clinical and performance psychologist and a leading expert in individual and organizational performance optimization. He retired as a commander from the US Navy after twenty years of service, during which he helped create the mental toughness curriculum used during Navy SEALs BUD/S training.
Dr. Eric spent several years as the director of specialized performance for the Los Angeles Dodgers and has also worked with Red Bull athletes, the US Women’s national soccer team, the Miami Heat, and numerous Olympic athletes, first responders, business leaders, and NASA astronauts.
Alan Eagle is an author and executive communications consultant, helping leaders and companies shape and tell their stories. He spent 16 years at Google, partnering with executives to communicate the company’s story to clients, partners, employees, and the public.
Alan is the co-author of the books How Google Works and Trillion Dollar Coach, and the author, all by himself, of seven letters-to-the-editor published in Sports Illustrated. He has never won the New Yorker Caption Contest.
Links
Connect with Dr. Eric Potterat & Alan Eagle!
Dr. Eric LinkedIn | Alan LinkedIn | Learned Excellence
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on iTunes!
189 The Big Distribution Lie
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Happy new year to everyone, and we at Lochhead on Marketing hope that you’ve been having a good one so far. To start off the year, let us talk about the big Distribution Lie, why it is so, and what you really need for your new startup or project to make it big.
You see, in Silicon Valley, there has been an ever-increasingly large drumbeat that says the number one thing that a startup needs or that a new software launch of any kind needs is distribution. That if you can only get distribution, then you’d win, right? So, let’s test this.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
The Myth of Distribution as a Key to Success
For this discussion, let us use Google as an example. In 2018, Google launched Google Podcast as a competitor to the category king (Apple), and the current challenger (Spotify). On paper, Google Podcast should have the advantage: Google has a legendary distribution line with its 5 billion users and having a mailing and browsing platform that is widely popular worldwide.
And yet for some reason, Google Podcast is now at the brink of closing down in 2024. So why did it not beat out the category king, much less its challenger in this race?
Building the Category versus Muscling into the Market
Simply put, Google Podcast did not offer anything new that Apple Podcast or Spotify doesn’t already do. It was simply relying on the fact that on paper, it looks like the better product with a well-established distribution network to back it up.
Whereas Apple created the category, designed the space, and solved the “problem” that their product “solves”, thus cornering a big chunk of the market.
This is a mistake that happens over and over and over again, category design economics are clear, the company that designs the space is best positioned to dominate it and by dominated our primary research has shown that the company that designs the category, if they can execute over time, earns 76% of the total value created.
Doomed to Repeat Itself
Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened to Google. One big thing most people might remember is Google Plus, which was supposed to take down Facebook. And not only Google is susceptible to this, as different big tech companies have committed this mistake, because they believe they could just use their better distribution systems to take over a market, rather than creating their own to dominate.
So at the end of the day, no matter how good your product is, and how great your distribution advantage is: if you don’t design a new category, around a problem that matters to customers, it doesn’t matter how legendary your product is.
Bio
Don’t forget to grab a copy (or gift!) of one of our best-selling books:
Snow Leopard: How Legendary Writers Create A Category Of One
The Category Design Toolkit: Beyond Marketing: 15 Frameworks For Creating & Dominating Your Niche
A Marketer’s Guide To Category Design: How To Escape The “Better” Trap, Dam The Demand, And Launch A Lightning Strike Strategy
The 22 Laws of Category Design: Name & Claim Your Niche, Share Your POV, And Move The World From Where It Is To Somewhere Different
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Lochhead on Marketing™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on iTunes!
344 Product, Growth, and Career Advice with Lenny Rachitsky
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On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, we are joined by one of my favorite people in the creator world, Lenny Rachitsky. A few episodes back, we posted the conversation we had on Lenny’s Podcast were I also extended an invite to him for a dialogue at Follow Your Different. And now, here we are.
Lenny Rachitsky specializes in deeply researched product growth and career advice, particularly for those in the startup/tech world. Lenny’s newsletter on Substack is also the number one paid business Substack. Try as we might with Category Pirates, we’ve been unable to catch him, and I think that’s great.
There are some powerful learnings here for marketers, and creators, and really anybody who wants to design a legendary career, I think you’re going to absolutely love this very special conversation with Lenny.
You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go.
Lenny Rachitsky on Product Management and Growth Strategies
The conversation begins with Christopher praising Lenny’s approach to product management and growth, hailing him as the “category King.” They then discuss the value of staying broad versus niche in product management, with Lenny expressing admiration for specific experts like Emily Kramer in marketing.
Christopher commends Lenny for his unique, non-egotistical approach in a field filled with “hustle porn stars.” Lenny attributes his success to providing genuine value rather than chasing followers. Christopher perceives a cohesive through line in Lenny’s work, suggesting a continuous quest to answer key questions for founders and product builders.
Lenny elaborates on his goal of addressing a broad range of questions in product management and growth, emphasizing a core focus with intersecting adjacencies like career and leadership.
Creating Valuable Content through Practical Application of Ideas
Lenny continues to discuss his approach on content creation, emphasizing the importance of maintaining diverse interests to keep himself engaged. Christopher Lochhead praises Lenny for incorporating varied topics into his work, appealing to a broader audience beyond the core niche of product management.
From there, they explore the concept of obvious and non-obvious content, with Lenny acknowledging the practical nature of his content. Christopher notes the challenge of balancing obviousness with depth, expressing his preference for content that goes beyond the blatantly evident. Despite categorizing Lenny’s content as somewhat obvious, Christopher commends him for avoiding the realm of “stupid obvious,” recognizing the valuable and practical applications within Lenny’s work.
Lenny Rachitsky on Creating Quality Content
Following up on this, Christopher questions Lenny Rachitsky on creating smart, obvious, and practical content without it being overly simplistic.
Lenny attributes his success to maintaining a high bar for quality, ensuring content is not overly obvious or uninteresting. He emphasizes spending extensive time on each post, sometimes up to 100 hours, and credits his ability to dedicate full time to content creation as a significant advantage.
Lenny describes a flywheel effect where initial success allows more time for improvement, creating a cycle of growth. He suggests that anyone can follow this model if they find the time and opportunities to invest in their content.
To hear more from Lenny and his ideas and thoughts on business content creation, download and listen to this episode.
Bio
Lenny Rachitsky (author of #1 business newsletter on Substack with 500k+ subscribers) interviews world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover concrete, actionable, and tactical advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Links
Connect with Lenny Rachitsky!
Lenny’s Website | Lenny’s Podcast | Twitter/X | LinkedIn
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on iTunes!
343 Miracle Morning / Miracle Life with Hal Elrod, multi-million bestselling author
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It is now 2024; and as they say, a new year, a new you. So let us start you off by helping you gain a new lens and perspective on things. And who better to assist you on that than our guest, Hal Elrod.
In the world of kind of personal growth and personal development, Hal Elrod stands alone. He’s recently released a new updated and expanded version of the Miracle Morning. To say that Hal Elrod has created a movement would be putting it mildly.
On this episode, you get to enjoy an extraordinary conversation with this man.
You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go.
Hal Elrod on Spirituality and Personal Growth after Traumatic Events
Hal Elrod talks about his journey of overcoming cancer and the cognitive challenges caused by chemotherapy. He shares that he has found himself struggling to finish books because he takes longer to process and comprehend what he was reading, or he forgets what has happened one or two chapters before and ends up rereading them again.
They then delve into Hal’s spiritual growth post-trauma, exploring his Catholic upbringing and exploration of various religions. Hal emphasizes an inclusive perspective, viewing different faiths as attempts to understand a higher power. He describes a personal and intimate relationship with God, finding solace and strength through prayer.
Hal reflects on the usefulness of belief and shares instances where prayer manifested specific outcomes, reinforcing his faith in a higher power.
Hal Elrod on Faith, Personal Development, and Empathy in a Broken World
When asked, Hal Elrod acknowledges his connection to Christianity but emphasizes a nuanced belief, focusing on embodying Jesus Christ’s teachings rather than subscribing blindly.
Christopher appreciates the authenticity of Hal’s answer, asserting that being a good person matters more than religious labels. Christopher shares a personal perspective on faith, stating that being a good person transcends religious affiliations. He mentions a song by Aaron Lewis that explores everyone talking to God in challenging times, highlighting the universal inclination towards faith during hardships.
This reflects a shared belief in the importance of personal development and empathy over rigid religious definitions in navigating life’s challenges.
Miracle Mornings & Focusing on Personal Growth during Uncertain Times
Christopher praises Hal Elrod’s impactful work on personal development, particularly the Miracle Morning routine. He notes the challenging times, referencing global issues, economic struggles, and personal hardships.
Hal shares some of his insights from 2020, emphasizing the importance of focusing on what’s within one’s control to maintain mental well-being. He highlights the Miracle Morning as a powerful tool for daily self-improvement and resilience, especially during chaotic periods.
Hal underscores the correlation between feeling out of control and the necessity of self-care. Ultimately, he advocates for concentrating on personal growth, stating that inner peace contributes to a better world, emphasizing the responsibility individuals have to themselves and those around them in tumultuous times.
To hear more from Hal Elrod and how to live have your own Miracle Mornings, download and listen to this episode.
Bio
Hal Elrod is on a mission to Elevate the Consciousness of Humanity, One Person at a Time. As the author of one of the highest rated books on Amazon, “The Miracle Morning” (which has been translated into 37 languages, has over 3,000 five-star reviews and has impacted the lives of over 2,000,000 people in more than 70 countries) … he is doing exactly that.
What’s incredible is that Hal literally died at age 20. His car was hit head-on by a drunk driver at 70 miles per hour, his heart stopped beating for 6 minutes, he broke 11 bones and woke up after being in a coma for 6 days to be told by his doctors that he would probably never walk again.
Not only did Hal walk, he ran a 52-mile ultra-marathon and went on to became a hall of fame business achiever, international keynote speaker, author, and grateful husband & father-all before he turned 30.
Then, in November of 2016, Hal nearly died again – his kidneys, lungs, and heart were failing, and he was diagnosed with a rare, and very aggressive form of cancer and given a 30% chance of living.
After enduring the most difficult year of his life, Hal is now cancer-free and furthering his mission as the founder of The Miracle Morning book series, host of the “Achieve Your Goals” podcast, creator of the Best Year Ever [Blueprint] LIVE event, and Executive Producer of The Miracle Morning MOVIE – a documentary that reveals the morning rituals of some of the world’s most successful people.
Hal is grateful to be alive and living his mission alongside his wife and their two young children in Austin, TX.
To contact Hal about media appearances, speaking at your event, or if you just want to receive free training videos and resources, visit www.HalElrod.com.
Links
Connect with Hal Elrod!
Hal’s website | Miracle Morning
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on iTunes!
342 One Woman’s October 7th Bravery At The Nova Festival Massacre In Israel with Natalie Sanandaji
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Today marks the 100th day from the terrorist attack done by Hamas that took the lives of many civilians in Gaza. On this episode, our guest is an extraordinary woman named Natalie Sanandaji, who shares her experience as it happened on what could be described as the worse day for Jews since World War II.
What you’re about to hear is a real, unedited, unfettered, unfiltered conversation about an extraordinary event that happened on October 7, and has been impacting the rest of the world since.
You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go.
Natalie Sanandaji on the Day of the Attack
The conversation starts off with Natalie painting a scene on how she found herself in the middle of the October 7th terrorist attack, where Hamas militants killed civilians and held the population hostage.
For context, Natalie is an American-Persian Jew, who visits her relatives frequently, especially during holidays and family celebrations. As such, her visit back in October was for vacation, so she could be with them in the upcoming holiday season.
That said, she had heard that there was an upcoming Nova Music Festival nearby, wherein they can camp out and enjoy music, which often lasted for a few days. The immediate comparison is that it was like Woodstock, as the themes of peace with music was similar.
The irony of the event and what happened afterwards did not escape Natalie.
Natalie Sanandaji on the Start of the Attack
After the first night of the festival was over, Natalie and her friends decided to go back to their campsite and take a nap until the morning set of the festival. But instead of waking up to the sound of music, they were woken up by the sound of rockets.
“One of our friends from our campsite was on the dance floor when the rock first rockets were intercepted overhead, and she knew that we were still at the campsite sleeping; we hadn’t woken up yet. So she came back to the campsite to wake us up, because she wants to make sure that we were alert to what was happening. She came in she woke us up and she was all smile-y. And she was like, “Hey guys, good morning. I just want to wanted you to know a few rockets were intercepted overhead. But it’s fine.” “
– Natalie Sanandaji
Normally, the Iron Dome would’ve intercepted the few rockets and everything would be back to what they were, with their biggest fear being getting hit by falling debris. But there was something to the amount and frequency of the rockets that made Natalie’s friend think that this was different.
Escalation
After hearing more than a dozen rocket explosions, Natalie and her friends decided to pack up and just go home. Party’s over. Though there were people who were starting to panic as they were going to their cars, the whole vibe of it was more annoyance than fear – annoyed that the festival was cut short because of what was happening.
Natalie and here friends themselves were not in a hurry. She even found time to go to the bathroom to freshen up while her friends waited by the car. Only later did Natalie find out that that decision could’ve been a fatal mistake on her part.
“I went to the bathrooms and then I went back to the car, and not until about two weeks later did I realize how much I was putting my life in danger by going to those bathrooms. Because about two weeks later was when a video surfaced of the Hamas terrorists coming to those exact bathrooms where I was maybe 10-15 minutes later, and just shooting at every bathroom stall trying to kill anyone who was hiding inside.”
– Natalie Sanandaji
As they drove out of the venue, the festival security was herding the leaving people into the dirt roads for better traffic. Though suddenly, those same security people started telling people to go back, and later on telling them to get out of their cars so they could run and hide. Only then did people know that something was horribly wrong.
And then, the sound of gunshots started to get louder and closer.
To hear more from Natalie Sanandaji and her account on what happened on that fateful day, download and listen to this episode.
Bio
Natalie Sanandaji, 28, serves as a public affairs officer for the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).
A Long Island native, Natalie worked in real estate in New York City before October 7th, when she survived the Nova music festival massacre during a visit to Israel. Her traumatic experience that day led her to transform her life and switch her professional track to Jewish advocacy and fighting antisemitism.
Links
Connect with Natalie Sanandaji!
Combat Antisemitism Movement | CAM Twitter/X
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on iTunes!
341 How To Become A Category Pirate | Christopher Lochhead on Lenny’s Podcast with Lenny Rachitsky
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This week on Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, we’re presenting to you Christopher’s appearance on Lenny’s Podcast, hosted by Lenny Rachitsky.
Lenny Rachitsky runs the #1 Business Substack newsletter, Lenny’s Newsletter. It is legendary especially for people in tech marketing, product marketing, and startups. It’s so legendary that even Christopher pays for it. And now, he’s in it.
This is one of the more in-depth discussions Christopher has had with a very smart person about category design in a while. So settle in for a good listen and great lesson about category design.
You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go.
This episode originally aired on Lochhead on Marketing episode 187. If you want to hear more insights on marketing and category design from Christopher, feel free to check it out at Lochhead on Marketing and anywhere you listen to podcasts.
On taking the Good with the Bad
Lenny starts off the conversation by showing appreciation to Christopher’s extensive work, and jokingly adds that it was challenging to prepare for their conversation due to his numerous podcasts, books, and other content.
That said, Lenny noticed Christopher’s website displayed negative reviews prominently. When asked about it, Christopher explained his approach with humor, calling his team Category Pirates and embracing criticism. He believed it was essential for innovators not to fear criticism, citing examples of famous artists and musicians who faced initial negativity. Christopher displayed the negative feedbacks to show the reality of creative work and to remind people not to take themselves too seriously.
Lenny admired Christopher’s ability to handle criticism and expressed the desire to adopt a similar mindset.
Lenny Rachitsky on how Lenny’s Newsletter came to be
Christopher Lochhead expressed admiration for Lenny’s branding choices, appreciating the simplicity of just being called “Lenny.” He found it endearing and highlighted that Lenny’s authenticity stood out in a world where many influencers create an aura of superiority.
Lenny shared that the name “Lenny’s Newsletter” was a default suggestion from Substack, and he never intended it to be a long-term commitment. Similarly, he struggled to find a different name for his podcast, wanting to avoid a self-centered approach.
But despite having his name in the branding, Christopher noted the content wasn’t self-centered; instead, it reflected Lenny’s genuine approach, unlike influencers who focus on creating envy. They both appreciated the authenticity in Lenny’s approach.
Lenny Rachitsky and Christopher Lochhead talk Category Creation
Lenny asked Christopher about category creation, a concept Christopher has championed over competition in existing markets.
Christopher explained how most people aim to compete by offering a better product or service in an existing category. However, legendary innovators don’t follow this path. They create entirely new categories, defining unique problems and solutions. Christopher emphasized that a single company in a category usually captures two-thirds of the market value, making category creation a lucrative strategy.
He cited Gojo Industries, creators of Purell, as an example. They didn’t just invent hand sanitizer; they redefined the problem of hand cleanliness, leading to a new market category. Christopher stressed the importance of focusing on problem-solving rather than just product features, making one’s brand irreplaceable in customers’ minds. He contrasted this approach with typical marketing, where companies invite comparison, emphasizing the power of radical differentiation and being a category creator.
To hear more about Christopher’s conversation with Lenny Rachitsky on Category Creation, download and listen to this episode.
If you want to learn more about Lenny Rachitsky and his works, check out his Newsletter and Podcast at LennyRachitsky.com and LennysPodcast.com.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on iTunes!
340 2024: DEI, AI, The Cloud & Beyond with Bob Evans & John Siefert of Acceleration Economy
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Today on Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, John Siefert and Bob Evans, the leaders and founders of Acceleration Economy, join in on the dialogue about DEI, AI, and what’s in store for 2024.
In addition, Bob Evans is also the host of the podcast called Cloud Wars Live, which Christopher has actually been a guest to a few times. They also have some great guests and amazing discussions over there, so go check them out after this episode.
That said, let’s dive in into this dialogue and prepare ourselves for the upcoming year.
You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go.
John Siefert on DEI in Tech Industry
The discussion opens up on the topic of what they have learned in the past year. One thing they agreed on immediately is that people seem to have gotten a little dumber in 2023. Not like major blunders and the like, but more like small things that might seem inconsequential at first, and came back to bite them before the year’s end.
After this brief exchange, the topic shifts to the topic of morals and intellectual decay that they have observed in the tech industry, particularly in the implementation of DEI statutes and the like. John Siefert comments on DEI, more specifically how a well-intentioned thing on paper could become twisted and be exploited when applied in the current social landscape.
An example in the discussion is that people are being told to hire a diverse staff not because of being inclusive, but rather to meet certain numbers and get benefits out of it. Given these circumstances seemingly are the norm nowadays, Christopher believes that the floodgates might open once this one particular case sets precedence.
Bob Evans on how DEI is distorted in practice
Bob adds to the topic of DEI and points out that the distortion often comes on how it was implemented, e.g. if it’s already done in bad faith from people up in management for a few people’s benefit, then the struggle to actually implement a proper setup will be that much harder.
It has come to the point that Inclusion is being used to actually exclude people. The example that the group gives is that certain analysts believe that Asians are overrepresented in Tech. So rather than hiring someone that is very capable in the required position, companies end up not opting to hire such talent because the person is Asian, and therefore skew their DEI scores. They would end up hiring for diversity rather than skill, and this dilutes their products and services, causing overall loss in the long run.
The point of DEI was to be fair and impartial, and yet in practice it just became a way to fulfill certain requirements for special perks, sometimes to the detriment of the company.
To hear more about Bob Evans’ and John Siefert’s thoughts on DEI, AI, and what 2024 has in store for us, download and listen to the episode.
Bio
John Siefert
Chief Executive Officer, Acceleration Economy Co-founder
John is a strategic thinker and business builder who loves to reimagine what is possible with smart people who are not afraid of the future. He has the ability to visualize voids in the market and then define a people, product, process, and position approach to creating a brand where that void once existed.
Bob Evans
Cloud Wars Founder, Acceleration Economy Co-founder, Analyst
Bob analyzes business innovation, cloud technology, leadership, corporate strategy, and the global digital economy. He’s the founder of Cloud Wars, was recruited by and worked for Larry Ellison, and shares his thinking via daily videos, daily articles, newsletters, and podcasts.
Links
Connect with John Siefert and Bob Evans!
Acceleration Economy Network | Cloud Wars Live: Apple Podcast & Spotify
Bob’s LinkedIn | John’s LinkedIn
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on iTunes!
339 A Wish for Different in 2024
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First and foremost, we at Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different would like to wish everyone from the bottom of our hearts, happy holidays. We hope that you have an opportunity to be with the people you love this time of year, and enjoy some happiness and peace.
That said, there seems to be a lot going on lately. Be it about antisemitism, diversity, equality, and inclusion, and sort of the core values that the United States will be governed by and will latch on to. So I wanted to take this time and have a talk between you and I.
You may not like what I will have to say, and that is all right. The important thing is that we have a good dialogue between us, and open ourselves to thinking Different does not always mean they hate you and your type of thinking.
As we head to 2024, that is my wish for the holiday season. That we have a breakthrough in real, authentic, civilized, thoughtful dialogue.
You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go.
Christopher Lochhead on LGBTQ+ rights over the years
Christopher shared a heartwarming story about a LinkedIn acquaintance, a marketing executive, who recently had a baby with her wife. They had a positive exchange about babies, and Christopher expressed genuine happiness for the couple.
“Around here, we think babies are fucking fantastic, especially when they’re born to good people who are committed to raising those children and loving knows children. What could be better than a great couple are a great group of folks who have a baby, love that baby, and do everything in their power to provide that child with a great life and enjoy that child. It’s wonderful.”
– Christopher Lochhead
Christopher then reflected on growing up around queer individuals, recalling the challenges they faced over the years. He emphasized the progress in societal acceptance of the queer community, highlighting the positive change that allows people to openly share personal milestones without fear of judgment.
That said, Christopher expressed joy for the LinkedIn acquaintance, appreciating that she can legally be herself and share her family news without hesitation, considering it a legendary step forward, especially in the United States.
Christopher Lochhead on mortgage discrimination
Christopher then talks about a CNN headline that revealed the systemic racism about the Navy Federal Credit Union’s discriminatory mortgage approval practices.
The report states that while over 75% of white applicants were approved for conventional home purchase mortgages, less than 50% of black applicants were approved under the same circumstances. Christopher condemns this as not just systemic racism but outright evil. He criticizes financial institutions like Wells Fargo for repeatedly facing charges related to racial discrimination without executives facing jail time. He emphasizes the urgent need to acknowledge and fight systemic racism for true equality and justice, citing the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
“This is racism right in front of us. And anybody who’s just anybody who cares about equality, and justice, and the pursuit of happiness for all must acknowledge that there is systemic racism against certain groups. There’s no doubt about that. And we need to fight it. We really need to fight it.”
– Christopher Lochhead
On Systemic Racism and DEI in society
Christopher expresses concern about the rise of hatred, particularly in the context of recent events, notably the conflict in the Middle East. He highlights the misunderstandings surrounding the October 7th events, emphasizing the severity of the situation and the explicit threat against Israel and the Jewish population.
Christopher is dismayed by the confusion and the lack of recognition for Israel’s right to defend itself. He shares a personal experience of a friend falling victim to violence and underscores the complexity of the situation, acknowledging the tragedy on both sides.
Christopher attributes the rise in hatred to the teachings of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which he suggests simplifies the world into oppressors and oppressed, fostering division and victimhood competitions rather than promoting genuine understanding and collaboration.
To hear more of Christopher Lochhead’s thoughts on 2023 and his wish for the coming year, download and listen to this episode.
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