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Becoming a Category of One: How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison | 
 enlarge | Author: Joe Calloway
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $10.09
You Save: $8.86 (47%)
New (27) Used (17) Collectible (4) from $7.80
Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 348366
Media: Paperback
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0471768073
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.4013
EAN: 9780471768074
ASIN: 0471768073
Publication Date: January 23, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
Learn how extraordinary companies do what they do so well, and obtain the tools and ideas you need to emulate them. Full of case studies and personal reflections by leaders of exceptional companies, this book is designed to help anyone transform their run-of-the-mill business into an extraordinary company–whether you operate a multinational corporation or a mom-and-pop shop. Calloway doesn’t offer any mumbo-jumbo or flavor-of-the-day buzzwords, just simple lessons that lead to real, proven results.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Stand Out From The Competition May 14, 2007
Thom Singer (Austin, TX USA)
Joe Calloway has a way of connecting with the reader in "Becoming A Category of One". As you read the pages of this book, you will sense that he is talking to you at a level of your business soul.
In a world where nearly everything is becoming a comodity, Calloway teaches us how to stand out from the crowd. This book is important for bankers, lawyers, accountants, and others who get lumped in as an also-ran with their competition.
Just looking at the cover, how that one apple stands out because of its color, this is how we all want to shine in our careers. But to shine, you must be polished. This book will give you the tools to show how you are unique.
How to Create Your Own Category March 5, 2007
A. Brunelle
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Becoming a Category of One is primarily about branding, creating a strong corporate culture (but this often overused strategy doesn't smack you in the face 1,000 times in this book the way some crazy HR people do), and finding points of genuine differentiation for a business.
I liked the book. It isn't rocket science, but it has simple, valuable ideas that might get you thinking. It talks about how you can't differentiate on the basis of factors that are already generally common to your marketplace or are "entry-level" in nature and how, if you want to "become a category of one," you should:
1. Know more about the customer than anyone else does.
2. Get closer to the customer than anyone else.
3. Emotionally conenct with the customer better than anyone else.
Calloway goes on to describe how he feels you can accomplish this. You should study the marketplace thoroughly, go into a transaction with more knowledge than anyone else about your product and your customer's needs, and use corporate culture as a method of creating consistency of performance in your suborindates.
Calloway ends with a study of The Tractor Supply Company and discusses how management has taught each employee the importance of corporate values and of "doing the right thing."
If you're looking for a detailed study of branding or positioning, this book isn't for you (although it's still possibly worth reading for ideas). If you're looking for a nice collection of anecdotes, stories, and examples about branding, serving customers, and winning in a commoditized industry (which the author believes every industry to be to some extent), here it is!
 A book on excellence masquerading as one on differentiating April 26, 2006
Jeff Lippincott (Princeton, NJ USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I chose to read this book because its title lead me to believe I'd be reading about differentiation and creating a "new category" in the business world. I am pleased I read the book, but it was not about creating something new, but instead was about creating something exceptional. The author points out that companies with strategic leadership, exceptional sales people, a state of the art product, stellar operations, and excellent customer service are going to set themselves apart. However, setting oneself apart is not the same thing as creating a category of one. In my view, setting oneself apart means being at the top of a list within a category.
The author admits early in the book that the ideas he presents are not new or his. He says he is just a reporter. I agree. I recommend entrepreneurs read this book to get a feel for many of the things they will have to do to be successful when starting their new business. The author tells us what should be done, but he's kind of thin on telling us how to do it. Fortunately, the "how" is specific to each business and an entrepreneur should be able to figure how what he or she needs to do when preparing his or her business plan.
At one point the author provides a list of 3:
1. Know your customers
2. Get close to your customers
3. Emotionally connect to your customers
This sounded more like it was being directed to a sales team than someone who was leading a company to success. I would have liked the book better if the material about "sales" had been left out. Either the book was supposed to be about creating a great company or it was supposed to be about selling what a company has to offer. I don't think it was about both. Nor do I think it should have been about both.
It would have been nice if the author had pointed out that salesmen have to be great if they want to be successful at selling commodities. And great companies that don't produce commodities do not have to be particularly good salesmen - the products sell themselves.
Innovative yet elemental approach ... BEST professional read ... November 4, 2005
M. A. Howard (Hoboken, NJ)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I work in the apparel industry where your brand is everything; compelling your consumer to aspire to the lifestyle & image your product represents. This book was an excellent read in providing an innovative yet elemental though ... stop gauging success by competition and strive for top performance by your own standards of excellence. I would also recommend this read from the personal "brand" perspective; marketing yourself as a unique entity that defies competition. Definitely a book that will stay on my bookshelf for reference throughout my career.
Do you know what your business does? September 29, 2005
James S. Bedingfield
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is not for every person in business, which is unfortunate because only those who "get" this book will have the years of fulfillment that come from really knowing why they are doing what they are doing and the immense satisfaction and success that comes with that kind of clarity and focus. This is a totally different "how to" business book that requires asking and anwering the most fundamental questions about what you do and why you do it. These are most the difficult questions to answer in a meaningful way, but the rewards are equally great. I had the great good fortune to work in a company that could be another study case for this book, so understand from that perspective the power of what Calloway is talking about. The second half of the book is a little weak and somewhat repetitive, but the first half makes the book more than worth the cover price if you truly want your business to excel and provide a rewarding experience for you and your staff. It's sometimes difficult to admit that, as Calloway points out, we do get what we want most.
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