Today we have Christopher Lochhead who started his first company at 18 and retired 30 years later. He is a three-time public company CMO, best selling author, and host of Legends and Losers Podcast. He was a co-founder of Play Bigger Advisors, served as Chief Marketing Officer of Mercury Interactive, a $1B software company that was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2006 for $4.5B. He is coauthor with Al Ramadan and Dave Peterson and Kevin Maney of Play Bigger: How pirates, dreamers, and innovators create and dominate markets.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[1:25] Jeremy introduces his guest, Christopher Lochhead.
[3:00] The world doesn’t need more bullshit.
[12:30] Where is podcasting going? Is it oversaturated?
[17:00] Christopher talks about his Father-In-Law and his fruit orchard.
[22:30] What was the motivation for writing the book, “Play Bigger?”
[27:20] A healthy disregard for the status quo.
[29:00] Christopher talks about getting kicked out of school.
[32:00] The value of entrepreneurship and the evolution of Silicon Valley.
[36:00] What did Mercury Interactive do? What made it stand out?
[42:00] Why you should strive to be a “Category King.”
[45:00] Christopher talks about rolling out BTO.
[50:30] Testing products and ideas often fail to lead a to breakthrough.
[53:30] A great example of creating a new category.
[56:30] Position yourself or be positioned!
[59:30] Categories make brands not the other way around.
[1:02:30] Until someone reimagines the problem, nothing is going to change.
[1:06:30] Christopher talks about his work with One Life.
[1:10:00] How to connect with Christopher and what inspires him.
[1:12:30] Christopher describes all the items he has in his office.

In this episode…

What does it mean to become a category king? Is it wise to branch out and create a new category to become it’s de facto leader? Why is this better than challenging existing competition? You’ll hear the answer to these questions and much more from special guest, Christopher Lochhead on this episode of Inspired Insider. In his conversation with Jeremy, Christopher opens up about his time at Mercury Interactive, why the world doesn’t need more bullshit, what inspired him and his partners to write Play Bigger, and so much more! There is a ton of great insights that Christopher has to share, don’t miss a minute of it!

Be honest, aren’t you sick of all the bullshit that gets passed around as “Cutting edge” and “Innovative” these days? If that’s you, you aren’t alone! It seems that there is a growing number of people who are ready to kick curated sound bites to the curb in search of a more authentic and genuine existence. Helping to lead that charge is accomplished business leader and podcast host, Christopher Lochhead. Christopher is a no-nonsense kind of guy who loves to tell stories and ruffle a few feathers. What can you learn from Christopher's refreshing approach?

What is in the cards for the podcasting industry? Is the market truly over-saturated as many people claim or are the party just getting started? It seems like everyone and their neighbor has a podcast these days, what role does the low overhead aspect play in the equation? Avid podcaster, Christopher Lochhead is convinced that podcasting is just at the beginning of it’s run. He sees a massive potential for podcasting to grow and evolve due to the fact that new categories and creative ways of telling stories continue to pop up left and right.

The message of defeating the competition has been drilled so hard into the minds of business people that many have failed to see the immense opportunity to be found in the alternative. The alternative approach as described by Christopher Lochhead is to completely sidestep the competition and create a brand new category. This is the approach that Google, Netflix, and Apple took and those companies have shaped our economy and our society in ways they would never have if they played it safe! What are you waiting for? Stop playing it safe! Muster up the boldness to get out there and become a Category King!

Let’s face it, you have to be a little discontent with life to be an innovator or entrepreneur. The question is, do you continue to feed off of that discontent or is it simply the spark that starts a chain reaction. Christopher Lochhead strongly believes that leaders who want to make a lasting impact need to stay discontent with the status quo. Don’t settle! Push the envelope, break barriers, and think outside of the box! Either you position yourself in the marketplace or the marketplace will position you. Learn from Christopher’s helpful insights and go even further by checking out his podcast and his book, links to both can be found in the resources section at the end of this post!

Resources Mentioned on this episode

Sponsor for this episode

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