Purple Cow
Written by: Seth Godin
ISBN: 159184021X
Pages: 160
Themes: Marketing, Ideas, Growth
One reason I love hanging out with Nevan Hooker (our Product Development Director) is because he’s always giving me out-of-the-box ideas and telling me about the books he is reading. A few months back he told me that one of our new products looked really purple to him. Purple? That’s when I learned about the Purple Cow.
I got on Amazon.com and bought the book. One thing I love about Amazon.com is how easy it is to buy a book. They really make it too easy! From the time I go to their website until the time I check out it’s under 60 seconds. Okay, I’ll get off that rabbit trail and back to the subject at hand.
Here’s the low-down on the Purple Cow. How do great ideas spread? Why do some churches, companies, salesmen, game systems, etc. succeed while others fade away? Purple Cow is a book about how to move your business (or ministry) from ho-hum to wow.
So where does the name Purple Cow come from?
I live in Indiana. My house is surrounded by farms. If you come and visit my town, you’ll find lots of corn and lots of cows. One thing about cows is that they all look the same. It’s fun to drive down the road and look at the cows, but after a while they all start looking alike. If I drove down the road and saw a purple cow, it would catch my attention. I would never forget the purple cow. Five years later I could tell you where I saw the purple cow.
This book shares what it takes to create and sell something remarkable. It’s for the person who wants to help their organization succeed by introducing the right products or services. It’s also good for those of us doing ministry week to week. We need some purple cows. This morning the kids in my children’s church needed a purple cow. They need to hear the Word of God preached to them in a way they will never forget. Tuesday at Day Camp the kids in my church need a purple cow. They need to have an experience that will be remembered for years to come. Think about your ministry. Are you seeing purple?
I love this book. It’s one I keep in my gym bag I have read it at least five times. Another good marketing book I just bought and started reading is “Selling The Invisible” by Harry Beckwith
enjoy,
bj
I too love the purple cow. I love in the book where it is says:
“Instead of trying to use your technology and expertise to make a better product for your users’ standard behavior, experiment with inviting the users to change their behavior to make the product work dramatically better.”
What purple cow could we see if we applied this to the gospel…hmmm?
Just a thought not a sermon.