Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Seth Godin’s somewhat recent but very relevant book, Linchpin, is collection of ideas that, although related to the world of business, can really apply to anyone. In his books, Seth tries to convince the reader of roles he believes companies and employees will need to satisfy in the future. Previous Godin books have discussed on the need to stand out, the need for good storytelling, and recently in this installment, the need to become indispensable.One of his overall goals in Linchpin is to prepare the reader for what he believes is the current direction of the business landscape. He elaborates on the current environment and talks about the new anxiety people are facing. For the first time, white-collar workers fear for their jobs and young students stress over potential careers along with their “is college worth it?” dilemma. Seth makes the claim that this anxiety that people are experiencing is the result of the world changing and us not anticipating it. He believes that the recent economic forces of globalization and abundance mean that we are not going to be the workforce our parents and grandparents were. In those days, companies, but mostly factories, just needed people. It was an age where a worker could get away with average pay for average labor and companies could get away with average products for average people. Now in the modern world, companies have too much competition and consumers have too many options for that formula to apply anymore. Seth insists that the last way one can succeed in the modern economy is to be average. There is just too much competition to stand out by being average and with the current state of Asia there is a surplus of people who are willing to do ordinary work at an inexpensive rate. So, he argues the only way to succeed is to make ourselves indispensable, and the way we do that is by having two qualities he believes cannot be cheaply enforced in a manual: an element of humanity and a willingness to stray from the rules. When Seth talks about humanity what he really means is being able to make personal connections. He gives many examples of this, one being a coffee shop worker who goes out of his way to greet customers, adjust the store, and insist on asking customers how he can help. People like that bring humanity to their work and are rare to find in the world. These irreplaceable individuals make human connections that most people would not bother with, regardless of these connections being one of the best ways to boost customer satisfaction. A lot of people can follow the rules better than the next person, but not everyone can go beyond the written requirements and make these personal connections. Qualities like this will fill a new role that will make them irreplaceable, a role he calls, the Linchpin.The issue some people may have after reading Linchpin is that they may think it is too abstract. Seth Godin stresses the importance of being indispensable, but besides a few key qualities he never really gives a step-by-step method on how. While this may upset some, I would argue that that is the point. The idea of bringing humanity to one’s work is very relative to their situation and also it would be ridiculous if he gave the reader a step-by-step process on how to disobey the rules. While his ideas may be abstract what he does do is give plenty of real-life examples to ground his ideas in, that after reflection, the reader can hopefully draw a parallel to their own situation. For instance, on page thirteen he states, “Sure, you can always succeed for a while with the cheapest, but you earn your place in the market with humanity and leadership.” That idea is pretty vague. But right after that statement he makes a real-life connection to the way it is applied in the Trader Joe’s grocery store. Godin is clearly well-read and cites all of his claims, even ending the book with lists of other readings that go further into the topics he discusses. The historical events he talks about all have grounding in reality and the ideas that he elaborates off of have support from real-life examples. After reading this book the reader will have gained a wealth of knowledge and also be inspired to delve further into the subjects he touches upon.Personally, I believe Godin delivered on all his proposals within the book. For many readers he will point out things they already know, but he excels at putting it in an easily digestible format. For instance, at one point Seth talks about the pursuit of perfection and its diminishing returns. Harvard, for example, has ten percent of their applicants every year with perfect SAT scores. Yet even with this type of perfection thousands of them will still get rejected. Pursuing a perfection with this kind of limit will expend much of one’s resources without a guarantee of return. So, if someone wants to stand out and be a linchpin then they should not seek the goals that have clear and exhausting limits. They should seek the goals that have no limit and cannot be clearly outlined, unlike the perfect SAT score. Even though this is an idea some people may have already had, his digestible language will give the reader that ah-ha moment where they can finally put it to words. The Harvard example was just one, but by the end of it readers will have a greater understanding of some of their own ideas and be able to drive home those claims.From what I understand, most of his books follow a similar formula. I have read his other installment, All Marketers Are Liars, and it is similar in length and format. Both are relatively short and written in an easy enough language that one can probably finish this in a day if they wanted to. This book is definitely worth the time, but just keep in mind that it is in the similar tried-and-true method as his other material.Overall, I think I have stressed enough that I enjoyed his book. Even though it may have looked like I outlined it and explained all of his ideas, just keep in mind that I gave a snippet of what it offers. It is an entertaining and fun read that will definitely be motivating. He gives the reader enough answers to learn his values without having them rely on it as a manual. Although readers may not know exactly how to make themselves a Linchpin within their current situation, their eyes will be opened to the importance of filling this role in the workplace.

This fantastic book, a declared American best-seller, merges together many methods and messages. Everyone knows Seth Godin and his life philosophy is everywhere to be found, from the web to the media. Many reviews have been written so I would like to review this book, that I enormously enjoyed, in a slightly different perspective.First it is a book of its times. It would have never been written probably if America and the world hadn't gone through the recent economical crisis. The crisis in itself is the principle reason I think for the re-evaluation of the meaning of creative work. The competitiveness of working market pushes people to differentiate themselves as to their peculiar and special talents, or to the energy and the creativity they put into old and a little worn out patterns. If you have to survive, Godin is telling us, you must differentiate yourself from others. And how can you do this, only relying on your individuality and you own personal charismas. After ages of homologation (and here we have a definitive criticism of Marxist and communist culture) there is a return to individualism, but individualism American style, individualism that is absolutely compliant with societal work requirements. Nothing like Chris Guillebeau's The Art of non Conformity (which is also very fun to read), where it's the world that must come looking for you, while you are doing "your thing".To start believing in yourself and your talents, which are defined as Art, you have to overcome resistance, which is delightfully designed as "your lizard brain", even if at a neuropsychological level the identification of resistance with the amygdala is not completely sure yet. This chapter is one of the most convincing and inspiring of the book, really a gem!Follows the culture of gifts. Also this concept is elaborated from the basic Hebrew-Christian values that represent the foundation of our culture. There is a very famous Italian poet not well known in the USA, Gabriele D'Annunzio that wrote a verse: "Io ho quell che ho donato". I have only what I gave away. That in a way resumes the idea that our treasures will be in heaven according to the Gospels. Your art must be a gift, because only from a gift you can acquire that extra-value that somehow, even if this somehow is not so clear but relies only on the faith that it will happen, or on the concept of positive sum games, will make your work more satisfying if not more productive and appreciated.To get on with life change of being a linchpin one must design map (do a little programming) but this is often impossible, because many of these work patterns are new and have not been institutionalized yet. This chapter on map drawing is very short, but I am sure that in a future work Godin will have something to say about it, like today he analyzes the reason of success of many people.Godin seems to be inspired by the Asian culture and especially Zen. But if you read the book carefully what at least stemmed out for me was the rereading of our evangelical biblical roots in a non transcendental fashion. For example the leader as a server of his group is typically evident in the Gospels when Jesus washes the apostles feet!The bibliography is very down to the point and important texts are cited. The style is fluent and it is difficult to put the book down. The reasons for its success are all there and it is anthropologically a very interesting experience.

Llegó en excelente estado!

The writing is engaging, and I find myself learning so much from it. The insights and concepts are presented in a way that makes them easy to understand and apply. Each chapter offers something new, and I love how it encourages me to think critically. It’s not just entertaining; it’s also incredibly educational. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to expand their knowledge!

What a book. Truly insightful. Recommended.

Fondamentalmente potrebbe essere un libro sul personal branding che non è il classico manuale di istruzioni (e se leggete questa mia frase dopo aver letto il libro sorriderete).Aiuta a guardare con uno sguardo nuovo alle proprie potenzialità, a pensare fuori dai soliti standard, a cercare la propria voce apportando un valore alla società.L'ho consigliato anche a un amico che l'ha acquistato all'istante.Chiaramente se siete persone che preferiscono avere istruzioni chiare, precise, step by step, persone che non hanno voglia di scoprire e scoprirsi, vi metterà in difficoltà, perché è un viaggio verso la capacità di trovare la propria strada, unica, univoca.Consigliatissimo per artisti e creativi.

I liked this book it's really realistic and give you a 360 view of how to become more you and no taking work personally