Angelene Crosswell: Book Review

Angelene Crosswell

Book Review: “Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd.”

February 14, 2012

Moon, Youngme. Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd. New York: Crown, 2010. Print.

A couple weeks ago I found myself at Barnes and Noble, staring down the management section with no clue where to start. I usually pass by management sections, assuming they are filled with dry textbook-like lessons. So, I decided to choose a book in the worst way possible: by its cover. After pulling out several books with fancy awards pasted all over the front or featuring a company’s logo, I finally decided on one with a fairly plain cover, entitled “Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd,” by Youngme Moon.

            “Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd” is exactly what the title suggests: a book about how to be different. Moon filled her book with personal anecdotes that she used to introduce topics and make complex ideas easier to digest. Despite it almost seeming like a self-help book at times, it contains important lessons for companies on how to differentiate themselves from their competition. Moon believes that most businesses have fallen into a rut and that business professionals need to “begin letting go of some of the things that they have come to regard as the best practice.” The rest of the book expands upon this central theme.

            Moon described the competitive herd in relation to a class she taught. She described an instance when she graded a project using a rubric with categories such as creativity, analysis and presentation. She noticed that on all subsequent projects her students focused on improving their weaknesses and began to ignore their strengths. She noted that this trend also exists in the business world. Businesses find their weaknesses in comparison to their competition and attempt to improve these areas. But, when businesses try so hard to improve their weaknesses, their strengths sit on the back burner, resulting in a market flooded with almost identical, average products. This creates a herd. While it may prevent companies from falling behind, it also stops them from standing out.

            Moon highlighted three types of companies that actually achieve standing out from the competitive herd: reverse-positioned brands, breakaway brands and hostile brands. Each of these takes a distinctive approach to differentiating themselves. While Moon does not identify with any single management theory, many of her views align with Mary Parker Follett’s collaborative management. Both Moon and Follett believe that a scientific approach to management is ineffective and companies should value innovative thinkers. Moon’s views also relate to the Hawthorn studies because she considers creativity an asset in need of cultivation through attention and encouragement.

            Moon views management in a different way than most people, but she makes several strong points throughout the book. It offers an interesting approach to management and if more companies chose to use it, the consumer market would be much more exciting. However, with more excitement comes more failure. She only briefly mentions that if companies don’t follow the herd, they are more likely to die. Although she lays out obvious benefits to being different, I doubt many companies are willing to take the risks necessary to escape the competitive herd.

            I'll admit, when I was told that I had to read a management book, I was skeptical. I hoped that the simple cover indicated an easy read so I could finish it as quickly as possible, but "Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd" greatly exceeded my expectations. Moon related business practices to everyday life and provided a variety of interesting examples to illustrate her concepts.  While I think it should be categorized as marketing rather than management, it was a compelling read and I'm confident that it will affect me in my future with public relations.