The Big Moo

I picked up Seth Godin and "The Group of 33′s" new book, The Big Moo, and devoured it on my flight to and from Calgary a couple of weeks ago. It’s packed with quick stories that will help you discover the joy of "remarkable."

If you’re hunting for the big moo, innovation that completely changes the game, this is your book. It’s filled with fun insights from people like Tom Peters, Malcolm Gladwell and Guy Kawasaki…only you don’t know who is writing what…well, in most cases–Tom Peters always seems to give himself away. Here are a few of my favorite nuggets from the book:

• "…growth means change, change means risk, and risk could mean death. Nobody wants to screw up and ruin a good thing, so the organization just sits there, motionless."
• "…once you’re a commodity, you lose. In the short run, listening to the buyers and becoming boring can be profitable. In the long run, though, doesn’t it make sense to ignore your customers and stay remarkable instead?"
• "Every organization that gets into trouble falters because it waited too long to do the stuff that should have been done a long time ago."
• "If you develop a reputation as the person who is always pushing the envelope, challenging the organization to go to the next level, and using your influence to get good stuff done, you’ve got the world’s best job security… And if you surround yourself with a team that depends on you to lead them to the next big thing, you all benefit."
• "If you want to do anything new in the marketplace, you’ve got to get as serious, rigorous, and creative about renewing yourself as any other aspect of your business."
• "The enemy of new ideas is the familiar. So go someplace new."
• "Companies that are good at being edgy will always find a way to thrive."
• "…the secret to success lies not in strategy, but in galvanizing a team to implement the strategy."

By the way, there’s a big church that’s mentioned in one of the chapters. They’re doing some pretty remarkable stuff. Aren’t you curious to know what church it is? Guess you’ll have to read the book.