Christopher Lochhead Follow Your Different™

As America marks 250 years of existence, it is worth pausing to ask a question that most people avoid: what is actually true about this country versus what we have been conditioned to believe? The noise coming from cable news, social media algorithms, and political fundraising machines has created a version of America that feels perpetually on the brink of collapse. But the data tells a radically...

As America marks 250 years of existence, it is worth pausing to ask a question that most people avoid: what is actually true about this country versus what we have been conditioned to believe? The noise coming from cable news, social media algorithms, and political fundraising machines has created a version of America that feels perpetually on the brink of collapse. But the data tells a radically...

The business world is shifting in ways that most mainstream financial media is failing to capture. From Microsoft launching a consulting arm to Starlink eyeing your cell phone and Europe refusing to adopt air conditioning, the stories shaping our economic future are being misread at every turn. The Pirate Street Journal exists to fix that by examining these stories through a category design lens,...

America is in the middle of something extraordinary, and most people are not paying attention. Since 2021, Americans have filed more than 20 million new business applications. In 2024 alone, the U.S. averaged roughly 430,000 new business applications per month, which is approximately 50% above pre-pandemic levels. This is not opinion. This is data, and it points to one of the most powerful entrepr...

State Farm recently made headlines by flying thousands of its agents to Las Vegas for what turned out to be a dramatic announcement. Behind the Pink concert and Jimmy Fallon selfies, CEO quietly told 19,000 agents he was tearing up their contracts. Anyone staying past 2027 would face lower commissions, lost deferred compensation, and eliminated health benefits. The move signals a massive shift in...

On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , we welcome back Ray Wang , Chairman and CEO of Constellation Research, and widely regarded as one of the most insightful technology analysts in the world. In a recent conversation with Christopher Lochhead, Ray Wang shared his unfiltered perspective on the biggest developments shaping the technology landscape today. From the historic...

This week’s Pirate Street Journal episode covered three topics that, on the surface, seem unrelated: the SpaceX IPO and its acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor, the rise of plug-in solar panels for everyday consumers, and KFC’s ambitious brand overhaul. But at the end, each story carries a deeper lesson about how categories are born, how they grow, and what separates winners from e...

Fatherhood has never been a static concept. From the Leave It to Beaver era of distant breadwinners to today’s hands-on, emotionally present dads, the role of fathers has shifted dramatically over the decades. But are we truly optimizing fatherhood, or are we simply swapping one set of trade-offs for another? On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , Christopher Lochhe...

On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , we talk about how the consulting and research industry is facing a reckoning. Gartner, once a $42 billion empire built on telling companies which technologies to buy, has shed more than $30 billion in market value. Trading around $155 per share after peaking at $551 in November 2020, Gartner represents something far bigger than one c...

The conventional business press obsesses over company rivalries and product launches, but almost never asks the more important question: who is the category king of every market? The Pirate Street Journal flips that lens entirely. On this episode, Christopher Lochhead, Eddie Yoon, and Bri Clark break down three of the most consequential stories in business today, all viewed through the category de...

The American consumer is being misread. Surveys say people are panicking, but their behavior tells a completely different story. On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , we take a page out of The Pirate Street Journal , as Christopher Lochhead, Eddie Yoon, and Bri Clark broke down three forces reshaping the economy through a category design lens. From historic lows in consu...

Most people watch politics the same way they watch sports. Your team, my team, win or lose. We wear our colors, red or blue, and cheer accordingly. But that framing misses something profound about how real change actually happens in political landscapes. There is a different lens worth considering, one borrowed from the world of business strategy called category design. This lens doesn’t jus...

What does it truly mean to make a difference in someone’s life? According to Christopher Lochhead, Category Design pioneer and author, the answer is surprisingly simple: you have to be different. On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , Danny Bauer, founder of the Ruckus Maker Club and Better Leaders Better Schools , and Christopher unpack why the education system oft...

In a world flooded with content, credentials, and competition, most people are still playing the wrong game. On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , we sat down with Jessica Miller on the It’s Your Offer Podcast to challenge one of the most deeply held myths in business: that success comes from being better. According to Lochhead, just better is a losing strategy, an...

On this episode of  Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , let us talk about the recent feat of Humanity with the Artemis 2 and the real value that people are missing. On April 10th, 2026, a capsule named Integrity fell from the sky at 25,000 miles per hour, glowed like a small sun as it tore through the atmosphere, and parachuted into the Pacific Ocean forty miles off the coast of San Dieg...

On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , let us talk about California. California is considering something that has never existed in American history: a tax not on what you earn, but on what you own. The proposed Billionaire Tax Act would impose a 5% levy on the total net worth of any California resident worth over $1 billion. But calling it a billionaire tax is misleading,...

On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , Christopher Lochhead moves over to the guest chair and answer our questions about AI, Creator Capitalists, and the future of work.  At the AI and Copilot Summit in San Diego, Christopher Lochhead had a conversation that resonated far beyond a typical business keynote. Speaking to hundreds of executives, he challenged the dominant nar...

In a world flooded with content and incremental business strategies, standing out is more than a competitive advantage, it’s a necessity. Legendary Category Designers Kevin Maney and Mike Damphousse joined Christopher Lochhead on this week’s episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different to dive into their latest thinking on category creation formula and the evolving marketplac...

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the business landscape, redefining how value is created and where human work fits within the new paradigm. Long-standing advice to amass knowledge and out-execute others is now running up against sophisticated AI agents that can process information and perform tasks at speeds and scales unattainable by humans. In this emerging era, Christopher Lochhe...

In a business world awash with endless content, few voices cut through the noise like Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different . In this episode, we sit down with the co-founders of Military Creator Con, James Van Prooyen and Marah Lago , for a candid conversation about the untapped entrepreneurial potential of America’s military veterans and their families. The three dive into the values, mind...

This episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different reunites us with the renowned business thinker Joe Pine, whose work on the experience economy transformed how organizations define value. We join Christopher and Joe in tracing the progression from products and services to experiences, and now to transformations, where companies move beyond creating memorable moments to helping people ach...

Welcome to another episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , featuring the legendary Ray Wang . In this memorable conversation, Christopher and Ray dive deep into the latest developments shaping the world of technology, business, and careers. From dissecting recent tech earnings from giants like Apple, Meta, Tesla and Microsoft to sharing insights from Davos and contemplating the im...

In a world overflowing with business content and quick-fix success formulas, authentic dialogue about what gives life meaning can feel rare. On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , we have a conversation with Daniel Coyle , bestselling author of “The Culture Code” and the new book “Flourish.” We unpack why thriving individually and collectively goes...

On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , we sail with the Category Pirates to unpack why career success in the coming years hinges on moving beyond using AI as just another productivity tool and embracing it as a co-founder and thought partner. The insights aren’t just for techies or founders, they are relevant for anyone who wants to future-proof their career and unlock un...

On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different , Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sharren Haskel joins us to discuss the rapidly evolving regional dynamics, the impact of October 7th, and the broader implications for Western democracies facing the challenges posed by radical ideologies and political inaction. You’re listening to  Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Differen...