Break from the Pack
How to Compete in a Copycat Economy

By Oren Harari
Reviewed by: Dr. Brian R. Beirl

Are your customers just satisfied? If so, your business is running with the pack and falling behind the leaders in your industry. Businesses approaching their customers in the traditional way will be left in the dust.

As a senior consultant and lecturer with Tom Peters for twelve years, the author’s pedigree is evident in his live seminar writing style. Oren Harari is passionate and direct. The book is organized in three parts.

In Part 1, Resisting the Pull of the Pack, there are numerous contemporary business examples that illustrate the perils of “playing it safe” in the copycat economy. We may see ourselves in these varied examples, but the author immediately presents us with concrete actions to help the reader begin to formulate a plan for his own business. He presents the EMBER test for innovation; is your product Extraordinary? Does it Matter to customers? Does it Break new ground? Does it encourage Evolvement? Is it Real?

In Part 2, How to Break from the Pack, he continues with five steps to lead our businesses from the reactive to the innovative. 1) lead institutionally, 2) lead with profound authenticity, 3) lead with genuine caring, 4) lead with turbo speed, and 5) lead with the individual customer in mind. This section concludes with some very different thinking on mergers and acquisitions.

In Part 3, How You Can Lead the Pack, the author presents a 12 step Recovery Program. This informative and entertaining section personalizes all that has come before by helping the reader formulate a plan for change. We’re asked to analyze our long-term career goals, find our own paths, believe that our customers are more important than investors and employees, and get personally engaged.

Oren Harari has broken from the pack in the writing of this book. The bookshelves are filled with books written by consultants that amount to page after page of case studies of their clients. This book breaks that tradition with numerous concise steps for owners, managers and employees of any business, large or small, to break from the pack and lead. He encourages us to innovate with confidence because the future of our businesses and those that we serve depend on it.

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Dr. Brian Beirl has a general dental practice in Seminole. In addition, he is an educator, author, presenter, consultant and business coach. Dr. Beirl is passionate in helping his clients live the life of their dreams. He may be reached through his web site at www.brianbeirl.com.