This holiday season, we wanted to share something deeply personal and profoundly important with you.

While we typically write about category design and business transformation, today we're exploring territory that touches every human life: grief, loss, and how we navigate through our darkest moments.

The idea for this special episode emerged from our own experiences with loss. We recognized that traditional approaches to grief often fall short. During the holidays, empty chairs at our tables speak volumes. We believe there's a need for a different framework — what we're calling "Grief Design."

Companies that create experiences aren’t just selling—they’re changing lives.

In this Contributing Pirate mini-book, we’re diving into Joe’s work on transformations.

If Joe’s name sounds familiar, it’s because his work shapes how we think about customer experiences as narrative-driven adventures. In The Hero’s Journey, Joe challenged us to reimagine the customer’s path as a story of transformation. Today, he takes it even further to show how to design experiences that engage AND fundamentally change lives. He’s been using this approach for decades to help businesses create new and different categories that no one else can compete in.

“Transformations” isn’t a word he uses for flash — it’s intentional Languaging.

It’s also not a sleazy sales gimmick to get people to spend more money.

(Joe will explain why).

When you move beyond memorable experiences, you can begin to deliver transformations that change how people think, act, and live.

Imagine your business helps people achieve their deepest aspirations: becoming healthier, mastering a new skill, or designing a fulfilling career. (Like how Apple watches turn health tracking into a movement toward longevity. Or how Peloton is a community that inspires you to become the best version of yourself.)

Joe will break down why transformative experiences matter, how to create them, and why they’re the key to building loyalty so deep that no competitor can touch you.

Ready to reject the transactional mindset and help your Superconsumers achieve their deepest goals?

Let’s dive in.

We're not trying to help you FIND the perfect partner. We're trying to help you RECOGNIZE when they're already there.

Legendary partnerships are (often) serendipitous. They don’t give a damn about your plans and can show up when you're not looking. And without the right lens, you’ll miss them completely.

Would you recognize a legendary collaborator if they didn't match your "ideal partner" checklist?

Would you spot chemistry if it came wrapped in an unexpected package?

Would you notice your perfect complement if they were your total opposite?

In this week's Pirate Jam Session, we dive into why the most powerful business partnerships often hide in plain sight. We'll share why a University of Chicago spreadsheet wizard and a Spinal Tap-quoting dropout might actually be the perfect match. (Spoiler: They were.)

Here’s what we jam on:

The dangerous trap of looking for partners who are "just like you"

How to know when serendipity is trying to tell you something

A framework for recognizing potential legendary collaborators (before they pass you by)

Most importantly, you'll learn why a person who makes absolutely no sense on paper might be exactly who you need. (If Pirate Eddie and Pirate Christopher had used traditional partner-matching criteria, Category Pirates wouldn't exist!)

Tune into this week's Jam Session to discover what might be right in front of you.

In Find Your Business Bandmates, we reveal the secrets to assembling a business band that rocks.

Legendary businesses—like legendary rock bands—aren’t built on solo acts. They thrive when the right mix of talent, vision, and chemistry comes together to create something no one else can.

This mini-book is your backstage pass to finding your bandmates: the collaborators who play the right roles, amplify your strengths, and turn potential nightmares into platinum success. With our 100-point scorecard, you’ll learn how to evaluate and assemble a team that doesn’t just play—it creates magic.

Whether you’re launching a new venture or scaling an empire, knowing how to find and foster the right partnerships is how you stop competing and start creating.

Let’s make some noise. 🏴‍☠️

Simplicity, clarity, and repetition matter far more than cleverness.

Legendary (clear) marketing makes the cash register sing.

It resonates because it’s clear, not convoluted. Yet, many businesses default to industry garbley-goop, hoping to impress (who exactly?)—and end up saying absolutely nothing.

In today’s Pirate Jam Session, we tackle the complexity problem head-on. You’ll hear why confusing language is ruining most companies' marketing and growth. You’ll get real-world examples and stories, like a FinTech CEO who described his company's product in six different ways... in the same press release.

Here’s what else you’ll learn:

Why “being so smart you’re stupid” ruins your marketing, and how to avoid the cleverness trap

How to frame your message with clear, simple language that grabs attention

The secret to using unique words to create new, powerful mental imagery

The counterintuitive framework that creates legendary Languaging breakthroughs

Most importantly, you'll understand why clarity = velocity in business — and how to achieve it without dumbing down your message. Because customers don't need the Wikipedia version of your Category POV. They need the SparkNotes.

Arrrrr! 🏴‍☠️ Welcome to a 🔒 subscriber-only edition 🔒 of Category Pirates. Each week, we share radically different ideas to help you design new and different categories. Paid subscribers can access the entire archive of 99+ mini-books and audiobooks. If you’re not a paid subscriber, consider hopping aboard! For more: View the mini-book archive | List…

The Innovator's Solution shares a 5-stage strategic framework for how established companies can innovate — without following the traditional “disruptive innovation” playbook.

We explore the strategic choices that position incumbents not just to compete but to dominate their industries. This includes a break down of the 5-Stage Innovator’s Solution Framework that helps legacy corporations adapt and excel in the face of new competition. Then, see examples of how industry leaders like Apple, Tesla, and Amazon don’t just adapt to changes—they lead them by applying fundamental principles of category design.

This audiobook is a toolkit for any business leader (from established startups to multinationals) ready to rethink conventional innovation strategies.

Disruptive innovation isn't a smart move for established players and category designers.

This audiobook dives deep into the fallacy behind Clay Christensen’s “disruptive innovation” strategy.

You'll learn why incumbents who follow this advice fail time and time again. (Hint: They don’t introduce any real innovation or fundamentally alter business models).) We dozens of share real-world examples, like United's decision to launch Ted—a brand that was supposed to “compete” with budget airlines.

In this Pirate Jam Session, we take a category lens to The Innovator's Dilemma, Clay Christensen’s groundbreaking work that altered how many businesses think about innovation.

But here’s the catch:

Christensen’s “disruptive innovation” advice is the exact opposite of what category-designing companies should do, especially for incumbents.

Following his “disrupt yourself” strategy might actually be the fastest path to failure.

This is not about downplaying Christensen’s legacy but instead recognizing where his framework falls apart—especially when applied to category-defining companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla. These Category Kings cemented their category leadership by creating radically different offers that redefined markets and captured premium pricing.

Not by racing to the bottom.

Not by lowering prices.

Not by offering stripped-down versions of their products.

If you follow The Innovator’s Dilemma to the letter, you end up in a race to the bottom—a sea of sameness with cheaper, less interesting products.

Successful companies today don’t win by “disrupting” themselves. They win by designing entirely new categories, reframing problems, and proclaiming bold new futures. Because to truly innovate, you have to start by rejecting the premise.

A simple sentence works because people can only remember one thing at a time.

When we look at legendary businesses, from Microsoft to Nike to Ritz-Carlton, they all have one thing in common: a clear, powerful one-sentence strategy that cuts through the noise. For example, Microsoft’s original one-sentence strategy? “A computer on every desk.” Simple, bold, and transformative.

In this video, we share examples from companies like Gillette and Keurig, which mastered this approach.

For Gillette, it was about tracking a simple metric: revenue and profit per user per year. This clarity gave them the focus to dominate. For Keurig, it was all about K-Cups per brewer per day—a single metric that helped them make swift, decisive business moves.

So, what’s your one sentence?

If you don’t have one, it’s time to get to work.

You’re one sentence away from a strategy that can change everything.