What if working like crazy to beat the competition did exactly the opposite, making you mediocre and more like the competition?

In today&;s world of overabundant consumer choices and superfluous apps, upgrades, add-ons, and features, brands have become nearly identical, as their efforts to outdo one another have pushed them into a dizzying herd of indistinct options.

Youngme Moon identifies the outliers, the mavericks, the iconoclasts&;the players who have thoughtfully rejected orthodoxy in favor of an approach that is more adventurous. Some are even &;hostile,&; almost daring you to buy what they are selling.

Using her original research on companies such as IKEA and Google, Moon will inspire you to be counterintuitive and meaningfully different&;to rethink your business strategy, to stop conforming and start deviating, to stop emulating and start innovating. Because to stand out you must become the exception, not the rule.