When Thomas Nelson sent me Collapse of Distinction (Collapse) by Scott McKain to review, I was excited because I’d been thinking about the lack of differentiation of the organizations that I am most familiar with and why that is happening. In reading Collapse, I found answers.

Before I begin, let me say that McKain doesn’t play around. As a matter of fact, McKain punches some widely accepted assumptions and even some best-selling authors square in the nose. He challenges conventional marketing and strategic business philosophies at their core and doesn’t apologize for it. I really like his “out-of-the-box” case studies. He uses a professional wrestler, a maverick university president, a “hometown greasy spoon” owner and Roger Ebert to get his points across. If those don’t get your imagination going, I don’t know what will.

I don’t want to give my readers a traditional play-by-play review of this book. I don’t want to steal McKain’s thunder; I want to let him say what he needs to say. Also, I want you to read this book. This is not a “how-to”, but it is a really good guide in considering your own story and how that can play toward finding distinction in your marketplace. So, with that, let me point out a few highlights that makes Collapse a definite “read this book” recommendation.

First, McKain totally rips Jim Collins’s Good to Great, a mega best-selling book the business community has embraced as gospel. McKain simply calls Collins out. McKain believes that the “good to great” principles are fallacies and haven’t created distinction for any of the eleven “great” companies Collins features. McKain backs it up by pointing out the lack of “great” performances of these companies over the past few years and even solicits a quote from the great Tom Peters.

Second, McKain doesn’t spend a lot of time defining the problem — no one can tell the difference between you and your competition. He identifies a few, what he calls “differentiation destroyers”, but within 50 pages he gets going with the solutions. McKain lines out four “cornerstones” of distinction. The first cornerstone, Clarity, is really the best chapter in the book in my opinion. McKain asks, Who Are You?, and strongly warns organizations to avoid the “all things to almost all people” approach to attracting customers. An organization can really get in trouble when it inadvertently begins to dilute distinction in this way. He says that you should be clear about what you are and focus on distinction. The remainder of the book is about building on clarity. For what good is creativity, communication and customer-experience focus if you don’t know who you are or what to say?

Finally, McKain’s Collapse is distinct in itself. I never really felt like I was reading another “how-to” business book, even though he points out some steps toward achieving distinction. What I really like about the book is that McKain doesn’t use the “same-old” tired companies, like Apple and Starbucks, to illustrate his points. We all recognize the greatness of Apple’s design and the cultishness Starbucks’s atmosphere. The best thing about Collapse is the executive summaries following each chapter. Here, the reader finds an extensive outline of each chapter and can use it as a reference, rather than search back through the narrative to find a principle or quote.

So, I give Collapse a “read this book!” recommendation. In fact, if you’re a first-time entrepreneur, a marketer or church planter, I have added this book to my “must read, before you start your business” book list. If you’re looking for a book that will offer guidance and give you the “straight-up” skinny on building for success, start here. Outside of Tom Peter’s Reimagine, I have not read a book that slaps conventional, or even progressive, business thinking in the face. McKain nails it with his whole Clarity deal. Even if you don’t read all of this book, if anything, read the Clarity chapter. You better know who you are and never leave it, or you will find yourself “losing your way” when things get tough.

Get Collapse of Distinction by Scott McKain here.

Check out McKain’s blog here.