Book Review:

Collapse of Distinction

Scott McKain (February 2009, Thomas Nelson, $24.99)

In an age when mom & pops are shivering in the shadow of mega-retailers, local cafes are being gobbled up by corporate food

palaces and independent hardware dealers are being hammered by category-killers, Scott McKain's The Collapse of Distinction is an actionable guide to creating the differentiation that is vital to success of any business.

McKain draws from his own small-town childhood where two local restaurants were forced to change when a McDonald's was planted "out on the highway." While one of them failed, the other went beyond survival and actually thrived. McKain suggests the failure was a result of one "trying to out-McDonald McDonalds."

The author deftly takes on the "best practices" mantra featured in Jim Collins' mega-best seller Good To Great, and others. Referring to them as "best practice junkies" McKain writes that many leaders, "become so enthralled with a creative best practice . . . that they often neglect to evaluate whether that approach is appropriate for their situation."

The rush to follow others in their "best practice" leads to sameness and a collapse of distinction, according to McKain.

The book is published by Thomas Nelson and the author makes a clear declaration of his Christian worldview, but other than an appropriately placed Bible reference Collapse should not be considered "religious' by even the most sensitive secular reader. In teaching leaders how to be different, The Collapse of Distinction should be a valuable tool.

- Jim Seybert is an industry consultant and a member of Christian Retailing's editorial advisory board.

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