Product Description

33 of the world's best business minds tackle one urgent question: What does it really take to make your organization remarkable?

Most organizations are stuck in a rut. On one hand, they understand all the good things that will come with growth. On the other, they’re petrified that growth means change, and change means risk, and risk means death. Nobody wants to screw up and ruin a good thing, so most companies (and individuals) just keep trying to be perfect at the things they’ve always done.

In 2003, Seth Godin’s Purple Cow challenged organizations to become remarkable—to drive growth by standing out in a world full of brown cows. It struck a huge chord and stayed on the Business-Week bestseller list for nearly two years. You can hear countless brainstorming meetings where people refer to purple cows and say things like, “That’s not good enough. We need to create a big moo!”

But how do you create a big moo—an insight so astounding that people can’t help but remark on it, like digital TV recording (TiVo) or overnight shipping (FedEx), or the world’s best vacuum cleaner (Dyson)? Godin worked with thirty-two of the world’s smartest thinkers to answer this critical question. And the team—with the likes of Tom Peters, Malcolm Gladwell, Guy Kawasaki, Mark Cuban, Robyn Waters, Dave Balter, Red Maxwell, and Randall Rothenberg on board— created an incredibly useful book that’s fun to read and perfect for groups to share, discuss, and apply.

The Big Moo is a simple book in the tradition of Fish and Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Instead of lecturing you, it tells stories that stick to your ribs and light your fire. It will help you to create a culture that consistently delivers remarkable innovations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57270 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Godin derived the title for this engaging anthology of business homiletics from his marketing manifesto Purple Cow, which extolled the importance of garish new products that grab customers' attention. Phrased as a feel-good kindergarten platitude ("you are not ordinary/In fact, you're remarkable"), the principle seems a harmless nod to fancy-free individualism. But set in an adult business context of constant "change" and cutthroat price competition, where "winning the game has absolutely nothing to do with hard work and paying your dues" and "a constant stream of industry-busting insights and remarkable innovations" is the only guarantee of survival, the exhortation to uniqueness becomes terrifying and demoralizing. Fortunately, the cacophony of unsigned contributions from a "Group of 33" writers (Malcolm Gladwell and Tom Peters are in there somewhere) includes more reassuring and realistic lessons. There's a lot of New Economy histrionics ("They say, 'sure, we need change'"/ "I say, 'we need revolution now'"), but also comparatively restrained parables about marketing and customer service. Some writers note that competent imitation of proven ideas is often a better strategy than innovation, that self-effacing Bill Murray did better than self-aggrandizing Chevy Chase, and that, yup, hard work and paying your dues does pay off. The selections are for the most part brief and pithy, and while they don't add up to a coherent viewpoint, browsers are bound to find something that hits a chord.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Harry Houdini was a lousy magician. At least that's the theory advanced in THE BIG MOO, a collection of mini-business-sermons, edited by Seth Godin. According to the Moo-crew, Houdini's success had little to do with magic and much to do with his being remarkable--a theme repeated throughout this 4-hour audio program and one that expands on the theme advanced by Godin in his bestselling THE PURPLE COW. There's a lot of provocative material--from the marketing savvy of Texas-shaped tortillas to the fearless flight of little Max--and Godin reads the bite-sized episodes with conviction and humor. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author
The Group of 33 is an all-star team of business writers and doers: Julie Anixter, April Armstrong, Dave Balter, Marc Benioff, Kevin Carroll, Carol Cone, Mark Cuban, Dean Debiase, Lisa Gansky, Malcolm Gladwell, William Godin, Lynn Gordon, Jay Gouliard, Amit Gupta, Marcia Hart, Jackie Huba, Guy Kawasaki, Tom Kelley, Polly LaBarre, Tim Manners, Red Maxwell, Chris Meyer, Jacqueline Novogratz, Tom Peters, Promise Phelon, Dan Pink, Randall Rothenberg, Heath Row, Donna Sturgess, Robyn Waters, Alan Webber, Robin Williams, and Seth Godin.

Customer Reviews

The Big Moo.
Moo was not what I expected from the slogan,which seemed to reflect a way of living rather than a way of business success.

Unremarkable
For a book that's about being remarkable, it's ironic that this is so unexciting. The book had a lot of potential - but with the exception of two or three pages, it's a huge letdown.

Super easy to digest!
This was an amazing find. For two reasons.
1. Tons of interesting stuff, packaged into short articles from top-authors. I just cannot tell you ow much easy it is on the mind - just like reading a book of short stories once in a while, if you are a reader of fiction.

2. The liberty to share what I read. I can just photocopy/ scan the pages to share with my friend as long as mention the source.

Together with such a fine articulation of content, The Big Moo makes for a easy readiung and creating a balance, ann puts things in perspective.

Must read!