The Big Moo : Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable Reviews

• Why not fill your "pasture" with multi-colored "cows"?

  
  By A26JGAM6GZMM4V on 2005-10-20
  
  Q: What's this book all about?
  
  Godin: This is a book about how and why to grow. It's not a book of facts or logical reasoning. Instead of lecturing you about how important and wonderful it is to do scary, brave, and remarkable things, [this book] paints a very different picture for you. My colleagues and I are intent on slipping some subversive ideas into your subconscious...ideas that will help you dream bigger dreams (though they might cost you some sleep as well). We believe one way to get past [what we call] the growth paradox is to avoid addressing it head-on. Instead of warning you about the dangers of stagnation, or promising you benefits of growth, we've decided to tell you some exemplary stories instead. Stories that are easy to read, memorable, and, most important, useful parables for putting growth to work in your own organization.
  
  Q: What's the "growth paradox"?
  
  Godin: Most organizations are paralyzed, stuck in a rut, staring at the growth paradox. On one hand, they understand all the good things that will come with growth. On the other, they're afraid, petrified that 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.
  
  Q: Individual contributions by your 33 colleagues aren't credited. Pretty unusual, perhaps even remarkable. You identify them. Why not credit them?
  
  Godin: We did it because it makes it easier to read the book as a whole, to avoid being interrupted by the noise your brain makes as it shifts gears from one voice to another. That and it lets you guess who wrote what.
  
  Those who have read any of Godin's earlier works already know that his thinking is highly unconventional as he relentlessly asks conventional questions such as Why? Why not? Are you sure? How do you know? What if? Have you thought about...? He delights to churning up waves atop gray matter. Heaven knows, he has opinions of his own. Also opinions about those opinions. However, to me, his greatest value as a thinker is his role as what I call a "provocateur of the intellect." That is to say, most of his best ideas focus on how to help others to formulate their own best ideas.
  
  What we have in this volume is a synthesis but NOT a homogenization of what 33 business thinkers have to say in response to two questions:
  
  1. If being remarkable is the only way to grow, how to become remarkable?
  
  2. If the only barrier to being remarkable is one's ability to persuade associates to make it happen, how to do that?
  
  It would be inaccurate to say that the responses are "all over the map" because, in fact, there is no "map." Within the responses, however, are what can correctly be viewed as time capsules of intellectual stimulation. Their impact will vary from one reader to the next. For me, some had significant impact; others none whatsoever.
  
  When we first see a purple cow, it is remarkable. But after seeing hundreds....
  
  What is remarkable this morning is merely familiar tomorrow (or this afternoon) and ho-hum thereafter. According to Godin, "A big moo is an extreme purple cow, the remarkable innovation that completely changes the game....Yes, a purple cow is what you need, but the big moo goes a step further. In order to grow [whatever] at the pace the markets demand, you and your colleagues must find the big moo, the insight that is so astounding that people can't help but remark on it." I agree, while presuming to suggest that the process of "remarkability" proceeds at a high rate of speed. To repeat, what is remarkable this morning is merely familiar tomorrow (or this afternoon) and ho-hum thereafter.
  
  Ultimately and inevitably, the value of what Godin and his colleagues offer in this book will be determined entirely by the value of the ideas which they generate in the conscious and, more importantly, the unconscious mind of each reader.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Quick bites on how to become remarkable

  
  By A9P07NJ7UV0M on 2005-10-20
  Seth Godin, editor of the book, has collected 33 inspiring ideas and they become _The Big Moo_. The Group of 33, as the book references these successful business people, includes Mark Cuban, Dave Balter, Malcolm Gladwell, Tom Peters, and Guy Kawasaki. The aim of the stories or ideas is to show what it takes to become remarkable.
  
  The book's title comes from Godin's previous best seller, _Purple Cow_ which shows how to stand out in a world of brown cows. According to the book's synopsis, "... sometimes you need something even bigger than a purple cow. You need a big moo — an insight so astounding that people can't help but remark on it."
  
  While _Purple Cow_ focuses on standing out, it lacks the second and very important step — getting others to talk about your business. Standing out alone doesn't lead to business. How do people find out about you? That's what _The Big Moo_ is about — sharing ideas and real-life examples of how to get people talking.
  
  "Some Things Just Don't Translate" points that the way we see our products may not be the way customers see them. Sounds obvious, but it isn't. An Italian in the house ware business opened a store in the U.S. His foot traffic wasn't match by sales. He observed his customers and remained baffled as to why they were looking and taking an interest, but not buying.
  
  He asked a customer how she liked the store and merchandise. It turned out that what Americans considered vases, Italians saw as glasses — and vice versa. The owner, of course, was selling glasses of six in a case and vases as singles. Americans didn't want to buy six vases — they could've bought six glasses with ease, though. This type of valuable advice appears throughout the book.
  
  Most essays clearly get the point across although a couple aren't as strong. The book does what it sets out to do: motivate the reader to get out there to put ideas to work to develop a remarkable organization that gets everyone buzzing.
  
  Though the book explains the contributors gave up their by-lines for the book, I would've liked to know who wrote each story. There's no way to guess who wrote which story as few of them relate to the businesses associated with the people. What does knowing who wrote it do for me? It tells me who made the observation or how the person thinks. It's like sharing a quote without the author's name.
  
  It's an easy, gratifying, and fast read. I read the whole thing in about an hour. Each essay is about two pages on the average. All the proceeds from the book go to three charities.
  
  

• This has to be the most overated book on amazon.

  
  By A31GV2RICBXUFZ on 2006-08-24
  Here is the first few lines of the chapter beginning on page 162:
  
  Play is tactile... Play is revealing...
  Play is active... Play is cultural...
  Play is experimental... Play is knowledge...
  Play is imaginative... Play is curious...
  
  In fact the entire chapter is 2 pages long consisting only of stuff like this. The rest of the book is slightly better.
  
  If you like this kind of stuff then buy it. If you prefer something interesting to read and useful, I would recommend spending about the same amount of money on The Power of Simplicity.
  
  

• Senseless anecdotes, no POINT whatsoever

  
  By AHFUP6ZBCP5QC on 2006-04-12
  I picked up this book after searching for "getting things done now" resources - looking for inspiration to beat my perfectionist streak, and get something good today/not something better "someday".
  
  What a waste of time this book is for that...I had no idea (even after re-reading the intro) what the overall theme or point of the book was. Every little anecdote talks about some random experience of one of the writers, I have no idea how it ties into the point of the book. I don't "get" it.
  
  Look, I'm not an idiot - I can usually infer the 'between the lines' stuff, so it's not me being dense. I think this is just a random collection of thoughts that at one time seemed inspirational for one reason or another. It felt like I was tuning into CB frequencies at random and only listening for 5-10 seconds at a time. No context, no background, no clue, no learning.
  
  

• Moo Heard 'Round My Head

  
  By A2937DUU6X7I5R on 2005-10-31
  With great anticipation, I opened my copy of The Big Moo, a new book that was masterminded by Seth Godin and his collaboration with the 32 other co-authors.
  
  The range of emotions the book evoked in me was incredible--excitement, disgust, inspiration, sadness, regret, optimism, intrigue--just to name a few. I was unable to sleep until I finished it, and am still contemplating the passages and thinking about it (instead of sleeping). In many ways, I feel like Seth and the other authors did share "the secrets" that many of us seek. At times while reading it, I did not want to tell anyone else I know about it. However, I was won over by my belief that the more who understand and strive for The Big Moo, the better all of our lives will be.
  
  To "The Group of 33":
  
  Thank you!
  ...for reminding me that trying to make a difference, change and improve things is worth the struggle.
  ...for validating that individual conversations are important, and listening is the most critical element.
  ...for sharing your personal insights and experiences through wonderful stories, metaphors and maxims.
  ...for quelling my frustration from the many unanswered "why" questions I have posed to vendors, bosses, co-workers and others. It is a whole lot clearer now.
  ...for assuring me that opportunities are worth pursuing, customers are worth dazzling, and the experience is the reward.
  
  To Everyone:
  
  Don't buy into the notions of comfortable, security and stability.
  Don't wait, or tomorrow may not come for you.
  Don't let your passion die.
  
  
  
• Mission Accomplished
  By AVJP6CZXZ2JXC on 2006-03-10
  The Big Moo has truly become a cornerstone of the corporate culture at my organization. We ordered customized copies of the book from http://www.remarkabalize.com, where we had our logo, personalized message, and custom-made forward put right on the book to give as gifts to our clients and employees. It seems to have really struck a chord with everyone we've passed it on to-which has only made our personal message and brand identity stronger as a result. Corporate communications are so important these days for every industry; unfortunately, the tools out there today seem to be moving in the direction of the mundane and lackluster, with nothing truly getting through to your key audience. The Big Moo was our answer-it's chock-full of innovation and inspiration with the added benefit of our personal message to really drive home our objectives. Now everyone's mooing-mission accomplished.
  
  
• Have they no shame?
  By A2R8TQ9OYNAQTO on 2008-01-31
  I don't know what came over me in the bookstore. Mysteriously, when I got home, this book was at the bottom of the bag. It's an embarrassment.
  
  I would have thought it impossible to come up with something more stupid, more openly contemptuous of the very managers purportedly being 'helped', than the horrendous "Who Moved My Cheese?" of a few years back. You remember, the one which portrayed employees as mildly retarded rodents. But one shouldn't underestimate the intellectual arrogance of the consultant class, nor the gullibility of corporate management.
  
  This book is infinitely worse. It turns out that there is no apparent limit to the degree of atrocity of the rubbish that can be generated (and printed) in an "unprecedented collaboration of the world's smartest business thinkers". Despite the separation of material in this book into separate chapters, there is no individual attribution of responsibility for the individual chapters. This is not a good sign.
  
  Seth Godin, the nominal 'editor', obviously sees no problem in publishing a book which, for any concrete piece of strategic advice that is included, hedges its bets by also advising the diametrically opposing strategy. Thus, to succeed companies should:
  
  1a. Stick with what they know and do it well. (Focusing on your specialty is key).
  1b. Not get stuck in the rut of what they know, they should branch out. (Focusing on your specialty is fatal)
  2a. (page 23) "ignore your customers" (the customer is ignorant and wrong).
  2b. (page 64) the customer is always right.
  3a. (page 31) "Every organization that gets into trouble falters because it waited too long to change...". (urgency is crucial)
  3b. (page 136) "Remarkable doesn't always mean right now" (urgency is detrimental).
  
  And so on. Because chapter authors are not individually identified, should your coin toss happen to choose the wrong option between 1a and 1b, 2a and 2b, 3a and 3b, there can be no assignable blame.
  
  However, at least the examples above have the virtue of giving concrete, specific advice. If that makes you nervous, there is also plenty of this kind of gibberish:
  
  Plant rocks.
  Embrace the power of storytelling.
  Ignore the regulations. (I'm trying to imagine how this would play out in, say, the pharmaceutical or biotech industries).
  Imagine there's a tiger loose in your office. Breathe the fear. Fear is good.
  You are not a cog. You are not ordinary. In fact, you are remarkable.
  
  
  But if you're dumb enough to buy this book, you're a complete moron. Even by the extraordinarily lax standards for business advice books, it sets a new low.
  
  Zero stars.
  
  
  
• Misleading cover
  By AIHOVSWQUIHMQ on 2005-12-16
  Seeing the cover's impressive list of authors ("The Group of 33" as Godin labels them), I was excited to read clips of their wisdom. I had the faith to bring it as my sole book to read on a five hour flight. Big mistake. Turns out the book is just a watered down version of Godin's same couple of ideas that he's put in about 10 other books. None of the writing or stories (which were cheesy) were attributed to any of the 33 other "authors" individually. It's hard to believe all 33 of these well accomplished and opinionated people agreed on these ideas or collaborated in coming up with these light tidbits that have been articulated by Godin in the past. I get the sense that Godin just wrote this book in about two hours, asked a bunch of his friends if he could stick their names on the cover, and sent it to the publisher.
  
  
• Some cream, mostly bull
  By AIFEB7L666AHI on 2005-12-23
  Yeesh! 33 authors submit short articles, which are assimilated into a book. The results, as expected, is a hodgepodge of slop mixed with a few gems. Many of the short (2-4 page) passages read like some busy author quickly jotted something down in 30 minutes. An example - one author (none of the articles names the offending author) writes that the secret of being remarkable boils down to three things - practice, make sure you understand what is being said, ignore the experts. Or something like that. Very trite.
  
  On the other hand, there are a few gems. I loved the short passage on why good ideas are pinned down by corporate gravity, and what you need to do to achieve escape velocity.
  
  Overall, this was a quick read. I breezed through it in about 90 minutes. And most of the passages lacked insight, or were carelessly thrown together, or were purely theoretical with no evidence that this is what worked. Many of the articles were contradictory. One author writes "never compromise to satisfy the critics" while another writes "expect your idea to be molded and shaped as it works its way through the layers of approval". So which is it?
  
  I can see why Godin withheld the authors' names from these articles. He didn't want to embarass anybody, but he still needed to put a book together. In summary - this book doesn't have enough meat on its bones to be considered a whole cow.
  
  
• www.remarkabalize.com
  By A23VD7982CG58P on 2006-02-16
  My initial attraction to The Big Moo was a result of the all-star lineup of contributing authors for the book (in addition to being edited by Seth Godin!)--Malcolm Gladwell, Tom Peters, Randall Rothenberg--how can you go wrong? So I decided to do a bit of research and landed on their site (http://www.remarkabalize.com), where I discovered the really cool part about the book and its message: the book can be customized with your company's logo, message, and forward for the same price as listed here. I bought the book for clients, employees, friends, and family. The book's message is outstanding-it's about innovation, growth, and inspires a generation of the remarkable within your company. Very cool stuff. A must read for those with a creative entrepreneurial spirit.
  
  
• Great reference book for inspiration
  By ADCHUIWVMYQ6T on 2006-03-18
  I loved this book, and also bough it for a number of friends as a gift. Nothing can beat the collective effort of 33 people writing moslty from their experience. Very easy to read and any time your busoiness (or personal) mood is down just open this book at a random page and it will be fixed!
  
  
• Remarkable Ideas!
  By A3ODM08RNA3T23 on 2006-03-31
  How do you generate and implement remarkable ideas? The Big Moo offers, presents, describes, exhorts, and otherwise introduces (at least) 70 ways to be remarkable. The "Group of 33" include Malcolm Gladwell, Tom Peters, Guy Kawasaki, Amit Gupta and others, each of whom provided one or more mini-chapters.
  
  Interestingly, the proceeds from the book are being donated to charities and the authors' specific contributions are anonymous.
  
  Great, fun reading on your next flight.
  
  
• Very thin
  By A324AAPM75UDN on 2006-08-31
  Pretty useless series of short observations, not very inspiring & quite disappointing given the names of the contributors. Definitely not worth the money.
  
  
• Be Prepared to Be Inspired!
  By A1OZUXATNA0L10 on 2005-10-29
  Everybody gets to that point at their job, relationship, life, whatever where you're in a slump. Everything is boring. Getting up in the morning is painful. Reading this book will inspire & enlighten you! It forces you to think & look at things in a different way. It allows you to see the opportunities in front of you that you have been ignoring out of boredom. It says "stop being bored, do something about it!". This book has 33 different authors. These are some of the most innovative & brilliant business minds out there & they each wrote a chapter. The chapters aren't signed though, so there is nothing to interrupt the flow of the book. And if all of this doesn't temp you to read the book, this will: all of the profits go to charity. The authors wrote this book to share & inspire, not for the almighty dollar. Remarkable!
  
  
• Moo is somewhat new.
  By A2XPTCR0AR63IM on 2006-02-24
  The same ole but some refreshing insights. As a contemporary of Tom Peters much of this is updated rehash.
  
  
• A Quick & Fun Read on Becoming Remarkable
  By A1HOLJW15Q5S5V on 2007-03-18
  Seth Godin decided to do something remarkable.
  
  He thought, "Why not publish a book written by 33 people that doesn't make a dime of profit?"
  
  Why not?
  
  The result is The Big Moo, an anthology of 72 short, pithy essays covering everything from a list comparing big companies vs. startups, to a lesson on leadership learned in a redwood forest, to what a Colorado roofer did right, to what a local print shop did wrong.
  
  The chapters bounce around all those topics and more, but all relate to the core idea of being remarkable. Godin defines remarkable, in business or personal life, as doing something not good, and not perfect, but that stands out, that causes people to start talking, "remarking" about it. In other words, not only do you have to stand out (as he wrote about in a previous book The Purple Cow), but you have to do something really out of the ordinary, remarkable, a.k.a. "The Big Moo." He says that the real challenge before us is to do something truly remarkable with our work and our lives. The Big Moo doesn't pretend to be a step by step guide to guaranteed remarkability, but instead is a freewheeling brainstorming session to whet your appetite and spark your creativity toward creating your own remarkable life.
  
  The book itself is the prime example of doing the remarkable. The editor, Seth Godin, approached 32 people, some famous like Tom Peters and Guy Kawasaki, and others famous only to the people they have impacted. He asked them to contribute material to the book for free, with the agreement that all the book's profits go to charity. On top of that, all the material is anonymous, so that you're not sure who wrote which chapter. Remarkable.
  
  How I received the book is an example of the ripple effect of remarkability that Godin is aiming for. My copy came from Glen Tullman, the CEO of Allscripts. When his company read the book, they asked the question, "What can we do remarkable?" The result of asking that question is a new collaborative initiative that Allscripts has launched that will provide the ability for every physician in America to use electronic prescription prescribing completely FREE, which is absolutely unheard of. Now that's remarkable.
  
  The Big Moo is a quick and fun read, sure to give you some good food for thought for your own remarkable life.
  
  
  
• Two thumbs up
  By A2G060GE7544WF on 2005-10-27
  I've been going through a phase of reading business books lately, and this one stands out for a few reasons. Firstly, it is divided into roughly 70 stories by 33 authors, each only a page or two long. Good for those of us with ADD. None of the stories list their author so you just have to guess. Some are very easy to pin down, for example there is a chart that is straight out of Guy Kawasaki's book Art of the Start (also worth reading). Most of the rest I may never be able to figure out. The amazing thing is that these stories actually flow together quite nicely, and entire sections sound as if they were written by a single person.
  
  The cover says the book is themed around how to make your organization remarkable. While these stories aren't a step-by-step guide to achieving this(has anyone ever tried writing one?), they do provide a good jumping off point. All are inspirational, and many are very subversive. Just wait until you hear their opinions on the value of formal education.
  
  
• Donna L. Cohen Author of "GO BIG or Stay Home!" is a BIG MOO Advocate!
  By A3V4H9EEF6BM3H on 2005-11-03
  Stories to inspire, motivate, and call you to action to do something - like "remarkabilize" your business!
  
  Seth Godin hits home with a collection of 33 contributions to creativity! He and the contributors are donating the proceeds of the book sales to charity.
  
  We all struggle to relate to one another by "fitting in", but when we can catch someone's attention first - by relating to and appealing to their appreciation of creative individuality - then we can sell them!
  
  I have ordered extra copies of "The Big Moo!" for 10 of my favorite Performance Insights, LLC clients for holiday customer appreciation gifts.
  
  Another great job, Seth!
  
  
• The Big Moo
  By AFSDOEM2R35GR on 2006-01-13
  I am a big fan of Seth Godin. I have found something valuable and practicably applicable in each of his books on marketing and innovation. I regularly read his Blog as a way of keeping my mind sharp when it comes to think about issues of marketing and branding. I love his latest project - "The Big Moo."
  
  A few months ago, Seth contacted 32 of the most creative business thinkers, thought leaders, writers and innovators and challenged each of them to contribute a short essay that would be compiled into a book about how to be truly remarkable in business. The profits for the book project would all go to charity -
  
  The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
  The Acumen Fund
  Room to Read
  
  Each of the authors immediately agreed to participate, and the resulting book - The Big Moo - will be published in the next few weeks and available on Amazon.com and in bookstores everywhere.
  
  Many of the contributors to the project are individuals whose work I already know and admire - Malcolm Gladwell, Tom Peters, Daniel Pink, Dave Balter and Seth Godin himself. Each writer was willing to leave his or her ego "at the door," since the resulting 33 essays are printed without author attribution. I have just finished reading a pre-publication copy of the book and found it to contains some very helpful and encouraging nuggets that spur my own ideas of how to work on being "remarkable."
  
  As an appetizer, let me share some ideas that grabbed me from just two of the essays:
  
  From the chapter: Fire The Gatekeepers
  
  In California, Hyland Baron, an independent arts, economic and urban-development-oriented community organizer, reads the Oakland Times religiously. She underlines people's names, details about projects, and other useful information. Then she writes those people e-mails or calls them on the phone with recommended resources, incentives for introductions, and other expressions of support and congratulations.
  
  I do the same thing. If I read a book I've found personally or professionally important and useful, I try to track down the author. If a piece of music affects me, I reach out to thank the artist for their effort. And if I want to meet, learn more from, or help someone I encounter on-line or off-line, I write to them.
  
  I do this, not as a fan but as a comrade, as a coconspirator. Because if someone else's work has improved my life or my work, it is my responsibility as a consumer, customer, fellow creator to help improve their lives and work in kind. . . .
  
  Such an approach to life requires an assumption of indirect reciprocity. We must assume that the people who makes things happen are visible, accessible, and responsible to those who use their tools to make still more things happen. It also suggests that we need to open ourselves to such outreach from those who wish to approach us. (pages 111-113)
  
  * * * * *
  
  Amen! I feel as though I could have written many of these words myself, since they reflect the modus operandi I have adopted over the past several years. My life has been immeasurably enriched from conversations and correspondence that have resulted from my having taken the risk to reach out to authors and personalities such as Seth Godin, Dan Pink, Malcolm Gladwell, Kelly Perdew, John Irving, Michael Abrashoff, Admiral Bill Owens, James Webb, Duncan Watts, David Lipsky, et al. I also make it a regular practice to offer feedback to actors and directors when I attend theater events, and to musicians when I attend live performances.
  
  From the chapter, Stop Being Ordinary, I liked these five practical suggestions for behaving remarkably:
  
  1) Avidly Collect Firsthand Experiences - Be your own Sherlock Holmes. Take pains to observe and understand nuances from the front lines of your business . . . A.G. Lafley, CEO of $50 billion Procter & Gamble still regularly finds time to visit individual homes and talk with customers to keep current on what really matters to people.
  
  2) Practice the Zen Principle of "Beginner's Mind." - People with a thirst for learning can momentarily set aside what they "know." They often have extensive academic backgrounds and ample professional experience, but they manage to look past tradition and preconceived notions. They're confident in their knowledge, yet willing to challenge it when confronted with new information.
  
  
  3) Keep an "Idea Wallet" So You Don't Lose Momentary Insights - Real-world anthropologists carry a field notebook and a camera to record their discoveries. Try recording ideas in real time - on your PDA, or even on a folded sheet of paper you keep in your back pocket.
  
  4) Embrace the Power of Storytelling to Bring It All Together - Storytelling has an emotional appeal that trumps all the raw data in the world. Medtronic, a blue-chip medical-technology company, reports that when their teams need an extra spark, they bring in patients and ask them to talk about how a Medtronic product changed their lives. The results are positively electric. These life-affirming stories leave hardly a dry eye in the house, and the entire Medtronic team returns to work with a renewed energy, motivated to do their absolute best.
  
  * * * *
  
  I plan to purchase multiple copies of "The Big Moo" to give to colleagues and clients as holiday gifts. In that way everyone wins - the giver of the gift, the recipients and the charities whose work is being supported by this worthy publishing project. Remarkable!
  
  Enjoy.
  
  Al
  
  
  
  
  
• The Cow Goes Moo - and You can Too!
  By A1AHDOD9C25DXQ on 2006-01-18
  Subtitled Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable, this unusual book spends 180 fast reading pages giving benefits of, ideas and inspirations for becoming remarkable. These ideas can apply to a business, team, project or an individual. I have several ideas that I will implement as a result of my initial reading.
  
  It is a follow-up, of sorts to Seth Godin's Purple Cow . Rather than just talking about being remarkable, it is remarkable itself in at least five ways:
  
  * It is written by 33 people (including people like Tom Peters and Mark Cuban among others I don't know) and edited by Seth Godin. How many books have you read with 33 authors?
  * None of the chapters are attributed to an individual, though I am sure the chapters were largely submitted by the individuals, and not written in collaboration.
  * Each person on Godin's original list ideal contributors said yes - 100%.
  * All of the proceeds will go to charity.
  * And, the book has been released as an uncorrected proof. Godin, the editor and project leader, got the publisher to allow sales of the pre-production version of the book if people bought a large quantity as a way to spread the word about the book (This is probably a first.)
  
  The chapters are more like short essays and seldom longer than three pages, making this an ideal book for reading a quick few pages while waiting in line or between meetings. If you are looking for checklists and a model for being remarkable, this isn't it. But if you are looking for ways to instill, inspire and inform yourself, you'll want a copy.
  
  
  
• Informative, yet entertaining!
  By A38MWWPRMIQAT6 on 2005-10-30
  A book of business parables written by an all-star cast of business authors and thinkers. I love how the book is literally a collection of disconnected, but thematically similar stories, almost like the very best business blog posts! Pithy, inspiring and fun.
  
  
• slightly disappointed, but it didn't hurt to read it
  By A1Y51DMMLNLU5V on 2006-01-02
  Like a bell shaped curve, the stories are NORMALLY distributed in this book. Some are worthless, some are priceless, and most are average. Some are brilliant, and others beg you to question the mental stability or egos of the authors (hehe). Seth Godin wrote about being a purple cow in your herd of average cows. But one day, someone mentioned to him that it is not enough to be a purple cow if you don't have a BIG MOO to tell people, to mentor, and to generally publicize your ideas. To be remarkable, your have to be REMARK-able. Others have to hear you so that they can REMARK about your ideas. Some people have good publicists at work; so if you have a good idea, it is not enough to toil in silence. Therefore, Mr. Godin asked 33 of his favorite business leaders and pundits to contribute short bite sized, easily readable tips on how to have a BIG MOO, how to evangelize, believe, communicate, execute, and like a giraffe, stick your neck out. Even if you come away with 2 sustainable ideas, the book is worthwhile
  
  Mr Godin does not let you know the names of each contributor, and the stories are not organized; so you are unable to prejudice your reading (or is it a forced skimming) of the tips by who the author was.
  
  Each reader will get something different from reading this book, since each reader is at a different place in their careers and needs. Some highlights for me were the stories of people who defied convention and became remarkable, and the short pieces on Dr. Apgar's "Apgar" test for newborns, an idea that spread worldwide without any marketing budgets; Newton, who spent most of his time on calculus, but he is best known for his ideas on gravity, because he named it (gravitas).. so you should name something and be remembered for it; Bob Fosse, who had reduced flexibility, poor posture and bad feet; that new hires, after their 3 month anniversary, sometimes have great new ideas for your firm; and the story that compares the careers of Chevy Chase and Bill Murray, which relates the idea that remarkable doesnt neccessarily mean "right now."
  
  
• Excellent GIFT book
  By A2X8K0AJCY6INF on 2006-04-04
  I read this book on airplanes, doctors' offices, waiting in the car .. it is a fabulous book of short stories that make you go hmmm. I also buy it as a gift for people who I know could be remarkable with a slight nudge. Excellent book as a re-read too.
  
  
• Perfect Inspiration for Quick Reading Sessions
  By A1LLXAJ8YAXJ80 on 2006-05-18
  There are so many great essays in the book (I can't really think of one I didn't get something out of) and there is plenty of variety.
  
  If you are looking for an excellent business/marketing book that is perfect for quick reading sessions (or even long ones), The Big Moo is perfect.
  
  
• Too Much Hype
  By A2GU5LMUVAFKD0 on 2007-09-15
  This book is a collection of random very short chapters by various authors. Essentially they will tell you the sun rises every day, if it rains you'll get wet and so forth... it's amazing that still nowadays the press gets mad over such things. It's time to scream "The King Is Naked"!
  
  
• A CLEAR NICE READING
  By A2JYL3DKBNWG5Y on 2005-12-28
  The Big Moo sets us at the edge of a cliff and says "you've got two options: jump and do something remarkable or stay seated as time goes by, and envying people who dares to jump. So, what's your choice?"
  
  This is a book addressed to everyone, a book that make us think in improving the way we do things, not only professionally, but also in our personal life. Although it is sometimes far from reality and too close to a dreamer's vision of the workplace, it explores and shakes our comfort zone and the limits of it. The Big Moo asks for changes in the approach, in the way we face things in everyday life, and it asks for it shouting!
  
  It's an enthusiastic, inspirational and positive reading which message says "do things according to yourself and your beliefs, and the most important, do them now!".
  
  I surely recommend it!
  
  
  
• Very interesting and thought-provoking
  By A3CKKTIB83NDRC on 2006-08-28
  It's definitely a quick read if you want to get through the whole book in one sitting. But taken essay-by-essay, it's worth the time to sit and think about or to talk about with coworkers to really get good benefit from. I did not read the previous book (Purple Cows) but if it is similar, I might consider doing so.
  
  
• Excellent Compilation of Essays
  By A1EKRGMC5YERU2 on 2007-02-01
  I purchased this book prior to reading Purple Cow which wasn't a mistake per se, but I read a few pages of this then decided to purchase and read Purple Cow before ultimately tackling the Big Moo.
  
  Most of Seth Godin's work centers around a premise to get the reader to really think then eventually act on that thinking. This title is no different--it's a collection of essays compiled by some of the best marketing and business minds around in an attempt to get you to think about your current (or possibly a past) situation and what changes you may wish to make to become remarkable instead of ordinary.
  
  It's a quick read which delivers on its objective to generate actionable thought. It's also fun to try to figure out which author wrote each essay as he/she isn't identified for each.
  
  Highly recommended as a sequel to Purple Cow.
  
  
• Not very interesting
  By A181TLL9B0BTHW on 2008-03-28
  I bought this book, cause other Seth Godin books offer extremely important insight in today's business and marketing.
  
  This book does not. It's a list of semi-inspiring stories from "business leaders". Most of them are rather obvious and don't offer the type of knowledge/usefulness that are characteristic for other Seth Godin books.
  
  
• Makes You Think which is what Godin does Best
  By A2Q4BMLCC0RYKR on 2005-11-11
  I love what the guy has to say so buy it right away. It isnt his best but it is good. His approach having 33 collaborators on the book writing short stories on making your business remarkable and not telling you who wrote what is pretty creative and unique. Easy to read, dont have to go start to finish and chapters are short - worth the read
  
  

• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
• The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)
• Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas
• Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers
• All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World