Category creation over category competition.
Guinness World Records approached Tommy four times. He never broke anyone's record. Every time, they asked him to create something that didn't exist. This keynote explores the mechanics of stepping into empty space – how to see possibilities others dismiss, find environments where differentness is expected, and build at the intersections of unrelated disciplines.
Most people spend their careers trying to be the best at something that already exists. They fight for market share in crowded spaces. They compete for rankings in established categories.
Tommy kept stepping sideways into empty space. The patterns were ancient. The application was new.
This isn't a motivational talk about “thinking differently.” It's a structural analysis of how new categories actually get built – and the hidden costs most people aren't willing to pay.
Sight shows you what exists. Vision shows you what could exist. When “no market” or “no precedent” appears, that's often where the empty space is. Category creation requires seeing what doesn't exist yet.
Fully visible. Loosely connected. Internally anchored. You can't innovate in an environment that punishes differentness. The right environment isn't quiet – it's one where intensity is expected, not judged.
Innovation happens at the intersection. Basketball meets football. Entertainment meets sport. When two unrelated disciplines collide, something new emerges – but only if you're willing to be a beginner again.
The hidden cost of category creation. Most successful people can't do this: admit what you don't know, let others shine above you, be willing to look foolish in someone else's territory.
This keynote includes a cautionary story about ego disguised as strategy. A choice: stepping off the plane in Nike branding at a prestigious Adidas event in Germany. The person who believed in me asked: “You are either someone special, or just stupid. So which is it?”
The point isn't humiliation. It's the mirror – the realisation that ego doesn't announce itself, and you won't see it until someone holds up the reflection.
Innovation teams and R&D departments. Senior leaders responsible for new market development. Organisations in mature industries looking for differentiation. Teams stuck competing on price in commoditised markets. Anyone asking “where's the empty space?”
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