Play Your Own Game
Stop imitating stronger incumbents and compete through unique assets.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 93%
Play Your Own Game begins when comparison reveals that established competitors are likely to win under the category's conventional rules. Instead of producing a weaker imitation, identify what only you can credibly contribute: lived experience, audience identity, institutional history, access, constraints, or a distinct communication style. Then redesign the work so those assets become central to its value. The framework changes the competitive question from “Can I perform like the leader?” to “What can I deliver that the leader cannot deliver in the same way?” Its output is differentiated positioning rooted in genuine relevance rather than novelty for its own sake.
Origin
While preparing a Whittier College commencement address, Jasmine Star felt intimidated by speeches from Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, and Taylor Swift. She instead built her speech around having attended and graduated from that same college.
Core principles
- 01Imitating category leaders forces you into their strongest game.
- 02Personal experience can be a defensible source of value.
- 03Different rules can turn an apparent disadvantage into relevance.
- 04Specific audience connection matters more than generic prestige.
How to run it
- 1
Recognize the unfavorable game
Identify the standard against which you are comparing yourself and the incumbents who define it. Be honest about where imitation would leave you weaker.
Pro tip Notice when research has shifted from learning into intimidation.
Watch out Do not use differentiation as an excuse to avoid basic competence.
- 2
Inventory unique assets
List experiences, identities, relationships, and contextual knowledge that competitors cannot reproduce authentically. Focus on assets relevant to the audience.
Pro tip Include familiarity with the exact institution, customer, or problem.
Watch out Uniqueness without audience value is not an advantage.
- 3
Choose the audience connection
Identify who will feel seen, understood, or better served because of your distinct perspective. Make that audience the center of the work.
Pro tip Ask who specifically needs to hear the message from someone like you.
Watch out Do not turn representation or biography into a substitute for substance.
- 4
Redesign the game
Change the format, story, criteria, or positioning so your unique asset becomes consequential. Build an experience that cannot be judged solely as an imitation of the incumbent.
Pro tip Use specific lived details that establish credibility and emotional connection.
Watch out Do not copy the incumbent's structure and merely add a personal introduction.
- 5
Deliver on your terms
Execute the redesigned approach and evaluate whether it connected with the intended audience. Preserve the lessons as a reusable positioning principle.
Pro tip Measure resonance and relevance in addition to conventional prestige.
Watch out Avoid returning to incumbent comparisons after choosing a differentiated strategy.
In the wild
Star initially compared her prospective commencement speech with famous addresses from global celebrities and political leaders. She realized she could not win through the same kind of prestige, but she had attended Whittier College and could speak directly from experiences the graduates shared.
→ Her institutional history became the speech's distinctive value proposition and made the opportunity personally meaningful.
Common mistakes
Copying the category leader
Imitating the strongest incumbent invites comparison on criteria built around their advantages. Learn from them, but do not make resemblance the strategy.
Mistaking novelty for value
A different approach must connect to an audience need. Random difference does not create meaningful positioning.
Hiding the relevant personal asset
Understating a genuinely relevant experience can erase the very reason the audience should choose or trust you.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for speakers, creators, founders, and candidates entering a field dominated by famous or heavily resourced incumbents.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when strict standards require everyone to perform the same task in the same way.
From the transcript
“So if you can't compete at the game they're playing, it's time for you to play your own game.”
“Make up your own game and leverage things that are entirely unique to you.”
From the episode
Quarter 2 Review: The Actions I Took to Build My Future