Bob Dylan's a PURPLE COW

Bob Dylan's a PURPLE COW.

I just read this truth in Seth Godin's classic book: PURPLE COW: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. Page 48. " ...Bob Dylan, one of my favorite Purple Cows,..."

Why am I reading Purple Cow, now for the 4th time? Well, because the truth Seth postulates remains the same. The only way to compete in this over-marketed marketplace is to create something unique, different, remarkable...a PURPLE COW. It's good to keep hearing that message.

The other reason is that I send a monthly excerpt from PURPLE COW to members of a national business incubation group. In fact, that's their organization's name: National Business Incubator Association.

Who better to read this book than a group involved in creating something new?

Plus, it's a way to show that Conference Calls Unlimited is a PURPLE COW. A monthly excerpt for their reading convenience on a topic that should be dear to their heart. And prior to that we've sent them a free copy of "FREE PRIZE INSIDE: The Next Big Marketing Idea. Building a relationship, adding value, helping someone achieve their goals. Hopefully, when they develop companies around their products they'll remember us for their conference calls. (I'm not totally altruistic).

Back to Bob. Bob's been a PURPLE COW since he first arrived on the folk scene signing songs of protest and political angst. Well-written, poignant, timely. Acoustic. Then as Seth points out, he risked alienating his whole customer base, folk music fans, by "going electric" at the preeminent folk festival, Newport Folk Festival. OUTRAGE. Fans walked out on him, booed him. No problem. It was just the first of many such outrages that have kept him as fresh and interesting now as he was ...then. And now is 40 years later.

After "going electric" he then went romantic on Nashville Skyline. Oh the critics wrote. Bob's lost his edge, gone soft and sentimental with countrywestern influenced songs like Lay Lady Lay and Tonight I'll be Staying Here with You and including guests like Johnny Cash. Generated a lot of press. Sold a lot of music. Why? It was a remarkable change of direction and the album was remarkable.

Then he was 'born again' with the album "Gotta Serve Somebody". Again, the critics moaned: Ooooh, Bob's gone and got religion. Can kiss him goodbye as an artist of renown.

Not quite. Came out with "Time Out of Mind" , a grammy winning album, at the same time his son's band, The Wallflowers, came out with a Grammy winning album with Bringing Down the Horse. ANOTHER PURPLE COW.

I hope the fans that walked out on Bob stuck around all this time!

Now, he's created another PURPLE COW with his Field of Dreams Tour, recently ended, that matched him with Willie Nelson. What's remarkable? Well, it's with Willie, first. But Bob and his band still rock. This time he dressed his band in Dress-Cowboy suits with silver studs on the sleeves, he played keyboard and he still croaked/screetched/howled his way through classics and new ditties and beautiful duets with Elena Fremerman of Hot Club from Cow Town and Willie Nelson.

People complained they couldn't understand him singing. Well, who can?

Does that mean his peformance was any less energetic, powerful or passionate? In fact, it's one of his charms. I'd rather hear Bob Dylan screetch and mumble unintelligibly through "Maggie's Farm" than hear Al Jarreau sing in perfect pitch and note about ...something. ( Reminds me of the time in the 70's when I heard someone say they'd rather hear Janis Joplin burp in an elevator than Carly Simon sing about "clouds in her coffee, clouds in her coffee...")

The way to compete is to be unique. Be a PURPLE COW. Thanks Seth. Thanks, Bob.