This is a review and reflection on the book The Purple Cow by Seth Godin.
I like Seth Godin. I think of him as a philosopher, a marketing philosopher that is. I find that some leaders are fluent writers, deep thinkers, and aggregators of information and experiences. Others go a step beyond. They dig underneath the surface. I see Seth in the latter category. When I read his books, he inspires me to stop and think. He is one of those authors who makes me pause, stare upward, and ponder okay, that’s interesting.
I want to review Seth’s book in the format I’ve recommended to our WesMD Executive Level subscribers. Here it is:
Step One (name and author): The Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Step Two (Rate from 1-5 according to the scale below): I rate this book a solid 4. It is full of powerful ideas.
Rating scale:
- Not worthy of reading again
- Has few worthy ideas
- Has many good ideas
- Full of powerful ideas
- Absolutely life-changing!
Step Three: Top three take-aways.
This book lists some takeaways at the end, and three of them are my top takeaways:
- Don’t be boring. Being boring means being predictable, ordinary, and alas forgettable. In a crowded marketplace, a boring product or brand fails to capture attention, and as a result, it struggles to gain traction or loyalty.
- Safe is risky. Playing it safe and sticking to the status quo can be the riskiest move in a competitive market because here again, you invariably become invisible and forgettable.
- Very good is bad. Merely being very good is not enough; you need to be remarkable in order to stand out. Being remarkable means creating something so exceptional and unique that it stands out from the ordinary and compels people to take notice and talk about it.
There. Wow. That’s three simple ideas, but they are revolutionary if we can successfully apply them. As we launch the WesMD subscription site, I am challenging myself and my team to create products that are remarkable—remarkably impactful to Christian leaders and entrepreneurs like you. I hope you can help us in that endeavor. We openly welcome any ideas you might have that would add value to your leadership.
