enough clarity on its direction, or if different teams are for too long; either make a formal decision to pursue it, Part IV: puling in different directions. See if there is a desire or decide that it’s not for you and move on. How to Talk With to play at a bigger level that isn’t being served by the To help make this process feel a bit more formal at Your Team About current way of doing business. BombBomb, I gave a presentation to our leadership If you’re crushing your goals and achieving the right team that was designed to help us make the decision Category Design kind of growth, then perhaps you don’t need to take on (either way) and move on. It wasn’t a presentation such a dramatic initiative. But if your leadership feels just on category design as a general idea; much of it (and Get Them like something is off, then it’s time to present category discussed how it related to our future at BombBomb. Excited) design as an option to explore. You don’t have to pitch If you’re building such a presentation yourself, consider it as the “right” solution yet, and in fact, you shouldn’t. breaking it down into these four sections. If you’d like to Remember, you want to help your team come up with see the one we used ourselves, please email me: an answer on their own. However, what you can do 1. Review what category design is to remind your is introduce category design as something worthy of team of what you’ve been discussing discussion. “I asked our whole executive team to read Play Bigger, 2. Show why category design is the right solution which is really the definitive work on the topic,” Darin for your specific business situation added. “And I suggested some podcasts on category 3. Outline what your future would look like if you design. Once they had a chance to digest that material, decide or decide not to pursue the strategy I started to ask questions like, “Do you think people 4. Present a specific timeline for making the final actually understand the problem that we’re solving? decision Do you think they know what we’re trying to do? How While all four of those points are important, it’s the is that hurting us? What’s the upside if we solve that?” second one that’s most critical. Category design might Darin continued, “Once our executive team was open sound great in theory, but if you can’t demonstrate how to the idea, I asked for their questions so we could think it relates to your current situation and why it’s going to through them together. I heard things like, ‘Isn’t this give you the best chances of success, this presentation just for sales and marketing?’ and ‘How are we going to won’t really matter. stay committed to this?’ And from those questions, we That’s because category design doesn’t fall into the were able to make sure that everyone on the team was category of things you can experiment with and test heard, which helped us secure buy-in.” out. It’s a commitment – one that you can’t easily You may also find it helpful to explore how other reverse course on and that will require time and companies have executed category design. Here’s where effort from everyone on your leadership team. Your you can find more than a dozen interviews with other team shouldn’t make the decision without carefully category designers. understanding why it’s necessary and what they are getting themselves into! 4. Make the call Once you’ve established that your team is open to a new Here are a few other tips on making this strategy, and given them some time to get acquainted presentation to your team: with category design, it’s time to have an intentional • Don’t rush into it. Give people on your team discussion around it. Don’t putter around with the idea time to consider category design before you have a formal discussion. When you present to your The Newcomer’s Guide to Category Design 31