Pink Goldfish 2.0: Defy Normal and Exploit Imperfection

How do you become one of the few organizations or individuals that become extraordinary?

How can you succeed where most organizations fail? The goal of P!NK GOLDF!SH 2.0 is to help you to compete more effectively by becoming truly different. Based on over 400 case studies, the book provides an unconventional eight-part F.L.A.W.S.O.M.E. framework for achieving competitive separation by embracing flaws, instead of fixing them.

P!NK GOLDF!SH 2.0 is broken into three main sections:

Section I outlines the Why.

It explores the need to embrace weirdness and amplify weakness to differentiate in business. We reveal how everything we’ve learned about weakness is wrong. We show how every weakness has a corresponding strength. We examine the seven reasons to embrace weirdness. The section ends with an explanation of our metaphor of the Pink Goldfish. We’ll share the symbolism of the goldfish and the reasoning behind the color pink.

Section II showcases the What.

Here we examine the concept of being F.L.A.W.S.O.M.E. This is the idea of embracing your flaws. You can succeed because of your flaws, not despite them. We use F.L.A.W.S.O.M.E. as our acronym for the eight types of Pink Goldfish. We share our flaunting matrix and each type: Flaunting, Lopsiding, Antagonizing, Withholding, Swerving, Opposing, Micro-weirding, and Exposing. This section points out the ways to stand out by doing more of what makes you inherently imperfect, and intentionally less of what others consider normal and strong in business.

Section III explains the How.

Here we share the process of finding your own Pink Goldfish. We delve into the six A’s. The first A is Assess, and it involves understanding what makes you imperfect. The second A is Appreciate. Appreciation is accepting and taking ownership of your uniqueness. The third A is Align. Aligning is about finding those areas of weirdness and weakness that resonate with your customer and create meaningful differentiation. The fourth A is Amplifi. Amplification is the process of turning up or turning down the dial to bring your differentiation to life. The fifth A is Augment. Augmenting is combining two or more strategies to become even more unique. The sixth and final A is Attack. Attack will provide insight on how to exploit the weaknesses of your competition.

Praise for P!NK GOLDF!SH 2.0:

"Don’t hide the weird and the wacky parts of your organization. Use them to stand out from the crowd. Forget about strengths (or set them to the side for a minute). Leverage your weaknesses into the unique qualities that set you apart. These are the core messages of this smart book... Think about it. All the other goldfish are, well, gold. Imagine how you might thrive as the only pink goldfish in the pond.”— Daniel Pink, author of WHEN and DRIVE

"Packed with incredible examples, this book will have you spotting Pink Goldfish everywhere, and inspire you to breed your own, ASAP!" — Jay Baer, founder of Convince & Convert and author of Hug Your Haters and Talk Triggers

"Pink Goldfish offers a smart, powerful, and vibrant framework for any company that wants to stand out. Filled with fascinating case studies, this book shows how businesses can turn perceived flaws into strengths and connect authentically with their customers." — Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You and Stand Out, and adjunct professor, Duke University Fuqua School of Business