About a week ago, I picked up on a Seth Godin post that hinted the body of knowledge surrounding an MBA was limited. As a result, I posted my thoughts here as well as a number of other posts to help others sort through the question of whether to pursue an MBA. Regardless of where that discussion has gone on the net, what I do agree with is renewing oneself.
I recently completed Seth’s book, "Purple Cow". From the title of this post, I’ve hinted that I’ve taken a lot in. It’s a great book and a very quick read.
For me, I see his book as more of an innovation book than a marketing book, but in the end it could go either way. Perhaps what threw me was that the impression I got from net readers (before reading the book) was that it was a core marketing book. I see it as being an awesome complement to core marketing frameworks. In my mind it would be hard to facilitate an innovation session using the Purple Cow book as it stands though – some additional layer or framework would likely be necessary. Even Seth himself talks about not having a real framework or formula for innovation in the book. I think he’s likely smart enough to be able to come up with one, several, or many though.
Some interesting aspects of the book:
- Seth motivates the book by comparing the "military industrial complex" to the "TV industrial complex".
- In the military industrial complex, an increase in creation of weapons created a self-reinforcing cycle of bigger government, more taxes, more jobs, more taxes, etc.
- Similar kind of buildup occurred with TV advertising, but with the amount of information overload, basically this leads to a decline in the TV industrial complex. As a result, a lot of the things that got built up are unwinding and new things are forming (note to self: may be interesting to explore this in further depth)
- Skipping a bunch of steps in Seth’s argument for brevity, he basically winds up with the concept of "The Purple Cow". He relates the story of watching a field of cows and getting bored. Had there been a "Purple Cow" in the fields then that would have been something remarkable to grab his attention.
- A key point he makes in the book is that companies need to make remarkable products (as distinguished from making outrageous products) that can spread word of mouth through the market. Making great products is simply not good enough. It’s bad.
Lots of good takeaways. Lots of good mini-case studies.
It is good to have innovation permeate whatever one does. As a results-oriented management consultant, the guidebook, process, and tactics I use to wedge it in will take some active thinking and doing.