Collapse of Distinction

by Scott McKain

A Thomas Nelson Kindle book.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

273 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 29, 2000

Reviews

[Marc Haslebacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and some if the stories within but the substance of the book is very thin and repetitive.

[Kleiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Collapse of Distinction addresses one simple question: do consumers know the difference between you and your competition? According to McKain, distinction in the marketplace has “collapsed into beige uniformity,” which results in the “death of businesses.” Businesses need to differentiate themselves to survive, and thrive.

The Collapse of Distinction discusses the reasons for the collapse and provides action-steps for businesses to make themselves distinct. McKain dedicates the first part of the book to explaining the destroyers of distinction: Capitalism Produces Incremental Advancement; Dynamic Change is Delivering New Competition; and Familiarity Breeds Complacency. Then he dedicates a chapter to each cornerstone of distinction: Clarity; Creativity; Communication; and Customer-Experience Focus. To illustrate each point, McKain discusses real companies and organizations, and specific actions they took, or failed to take, to make themselves distinct.

The Collapse of Distinction is not only insightful, but also provides the reader with resources to implement McKain’s advice. Each chapter is followed by an executive summary, which is a quick reference that can be used as talking points for discussions with colleagues. Each chapter also has questions and action steps to use to prepare for implementation. The Collapse of Distinction is also part of a new program at Thomas Nelson called NelsonFree. Buyers of products that are tagged “NelsonFree” get the hardback book, a free e-book and a free audiobook. Distinction.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Collapse of Distinction by Scot McKain was one of the two business books I read last year. The first was geared towards photography and focused on making yourself stand out, but in a community-building, “everyone can win” way. Then I read the Collapse of Distinction. It also focused on distinction, as you can tell from the title, but in a more classic way.

My first impression was very good. The book is part of the new Thomas Nelson line called NelsonFree where you can download the ebook or audio for FREE if you buy the book. This is great for anyone who enjoys books in multiple formats, and kudos to Thomas Nelson for offering it.

I honestly found the book wandering, the stories slightly disconnected. The content was good, but mostly intuitive. You need to be different and not get sucked into the vortex of offering everything your competitors do. It seemed to take a long time to say simple things, was very repetitive. Reading it gave me good food for thought as a small businesswoman, but not as much as I felt like I should be. The executive summaries at the end of the chapter are probably as valuable as the whole book itself, which is a definite weakness. If you are struggling with finding your niche, you might appreciate this book, otherwise, I wouldn’t say it should be at the top of your reading list.

[Jordan Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book encouraged a mental shift from, "How can I sell more stuff?" to "How can I make my product more distinctive?" I've never thought about it in those terms specifically, and the arguments for doing so were compelling. The book practices its "distinction" notion by offering a free audio and ebook for download. (I won't be doing so since I've borrowed the book from the library and it doesn't seem ethical. Still, it's cool there's that option.)

Each chapter is followed by an extensive review of the chapter in outline form. I didn't find it helpful but I suspect others might. Again, I was impressed that the book itself was pushing boundaries by including the outlines.

My only criticism is that I think there was a bit too much time given to discounting the book Good to Great.

[Roland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you have to compete on price?
Do you need "added value"?
Do you have to make business with everyone?
Do you have to be just like everyone?
Is imitating your competitors a must?

According to Scott McKain, the answer is no.

Clarity, Creativity, Communication and Customer-Experience Focus are the four cornerstones you can build your business upon.

Defining clearly who you are and who you are not, who your customers are and who are not helps you to be different.
Does it mean you have to send away prospective clients? Yes.
Does it mean your market share becomes limited? Yes.
Is that a bad thing? Ask Apple.

Seriously, you should read the book.

[Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a whole, the book's core message is clearly delivered, but one should not expect to find any groundbreaking ideas here. The key ideas are also sometimes buried too deep behind long-winded anecdotes and superficial quotes from other books. And it doesn't help as well that the Traditional Chinese translation is poorly done in many paragraphs, which reduces the book's overall readability.

[Mark Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

How are you different from your competitors? What is your story?

I really liked this book. McKain is more than just and guru or thinker, he's a successful entrepreneur as well. The section on NOT following "best practices" should be read, and re-read by every manager in America.

[Jonathan Fleming · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but book I think it made me think about certain things, a way for you to stand out against your competition, however it gets a little repetitive at some point in the book, solid perspective on change and evolving as a company.