What is Your Purple Cow?

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I just finished reading Seth Godin's Purple Cow. The gist of Godin's metaphor is that if you don't stand-out, you won't be noticed. Driving along the road in the country, you see a lot of cows. It's amusing to watch them for a while but, soon, they all start to look the same and you lose interest. What if, however, you were to see a purple cow. You would probably slam on the brakes and make a u-turn. You would probably take pictures. You would probably ask the owner of the purple cow to tell you more about it. The point? If you do not do something exceptional (or 'remarkable' as Godin puts it), people are going to lose interest in what you are offering. If, however, you do something that no one else does, people are going to turn around, take pictures, and want to know more.

It's been nearly a decade since Purple Cow was first published. That's like a century in today's fast-moving, technologically-inclined world. This book was written before the social media revolution of Facebook, Twitter, and Linked-In. This book was written before YouTube and Hulu. This book was written before Pandora online radio. This book was written before the iPhone, the Kindle, or Nintendo's Wii. The last decade, more than anything, has validated Godin's thesis. If you don't stand out, you won't stand a chance.

Godin also mentions the fear that some companies have in the level of risk it takes to be exceptional. It's a lot safer to be mediocre. It's a lot safer to take the path of least resistance. Guess what, not anymore. Mediocrity is death. The path of least resistance is the path to destruction. Do you think that Nintendo has had such remarkable success with the Wii because it was just another game system or that Apple has had success with the iPhone because it is just another phone? No, these companies went over the top. Above and beyond. They recognized that 'just getting by' isn't getting by at all. Now, more than ever, playing it safe is the riskiest thing that you can do.

So, what is your purple cow? What do you produce in your business or your life that is remarkable? What stands out...or are you just like everybody else? What color are your livestock? Do you have a bunch of brown cows grazing in your pasture? It's time to get creative. It's time to make people stop in their tracks. Invest in a purple cow. It will be the best thing that you've ever done for yourself or for your business.