Customer Reviews

Survival Is Not Enough: Zooming, Evolution, and the Future of Your Company

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was intrigued by the author's idea of comparing the evolution of ideas and businesses, to the science of evolution.

I'm pretty sure that Seth Godin has never read any of the excellent essays or books by Stephen Jay Gould whose words have helped educate me about evolution. Godin seems to have learned about evolution not from scientists, but from Star Trek (which assumes that 'evolution' has a fixed agenda, and that 'evolution' is the term used for a single-generation transformation of a species from humanoid to transcendant being).

Even when Godin has the right ideas about evolution, his analogy of "genes" and "DNA" to "memes" and "mDNA" often fails through carelessness: he often confuses his own terms and concepts.

The real thesis of "Survival is Not Enough" is that companies need to "zoom" by trying new ideas, by experimenting, by accepting that when their business environment changes, they must transform themselves or fail.

Godin is certainly not wrong: every business needs to adapt and experiment. No company can survive the transformation of its environment unless the company transforms itself. Every company should try new things, different things, even bizarre "gonzo" ideas, in order to learn what works and what does not. Yes, "zooming" is a good idea, but Godin doesn't seem to accept that there are limits: company staff, budgets, and attention.

Godin's notion of launching many experiments, including launching multiple projects that bet against each other, is intriguing but clearly unaffordable to most companies. Yes, companies must experiment, and try new ideas and new projects, and we must accept that failing is better than not trying -- but Godin provides no guidance on how to choose which experiments to try, which risks to accept, and which to reject.

There are some good ideas in Godin's book, but I think most of them could have been captured in a dozen pages.

I gave this book 4 stars because, while it was refreshing to read and I definitely learned quite a bit, it wasn't a paradigm-shifting book, which is what I am increasingly moving towards for my 5 star books.

I warn folks that don't like buzzwords that this book has TONS of them. Frankly, there were more than I care for and I normally don't mind them!

Mr. Godin consistently picks a topic of business conversation/interest and then provides readers with his insights. In Permission Marketing he spoke about the rampant increase in e-mail marketing campaigns and what made them effective vs. ineffective and the impact it would have on consumer/business relations. In Unleashing the Ideavirus Mr. Godin spoke about the power of word of mouth advertising and how companies could utilize the Internet as an enabling device to cost effectively communicate with customers and generate excitement in a product/service.

Survival is Not Enough, by Seth Godin, is another bestseller in the works. For some reason Mr. Godin seems to get the "big picture" better than most. More importantly, the manner in which he conveys the information / subject manner is normally easier to understand than other books on comparable subject matter. With his new book Mr. Godin tackles the subject of rapid change and its impact on business. Using the metaphor of Darwin's Law of Evolution Mr. Godin compares a corporation's evolution to any animal.

The entire book can be summed up in a very simple manner. Evolve (change) or die. The fittest company will win at the end of the day such as the fiercest Lion will end up passing on his genes to other lions.

Rather than spell out each chapter I would say that Mr. Godin hits on several key things within the book that really make it worth reading

1) Why it is better to make small changes than big changes to survive (EVOLVE vs. massive restructuring).

2) How can a company accelerate changes so it doesn't become static and die?

3) Why you need to make sure you have the right people on board.

4) How do people deal with fear and change? What are some of the artificial barriers we as humans put up to avoid change? I found some of the insights to be interesting.

5) Are all companies capable of change? Obviously a lot don't (they become extinct via bankruptcy) but did they miss along the way which hurt the company (examples are provided.)

Mr. Godin's last chapter gives a long list of important questions that deal with change. Through asking them and honestly answering them you may find some insightful things about your companies' culture and the implications for your career development, as well as their future success. In general I found the book to be very insightful but much tougher than his previous books to read. This is heady stuff, relative to his prior books, especially when you have to compare the entire book to Darwin and Evolution!

This book is about a good idea: understanding Darwinism as a way of understanding the dynamics of business. There's a lot we could learn from evolutionary biology to improve the way we do business. Here's one example: we should let "survival of the fittest" apply inside the company. Most firms don't do this actively, so they end up with a lot of dead wood. Ultimately, the company itself ends up less fit than its competitors and does not survive. Far better to push your employees to perform and retain only the best if you want your company to be around for long.

Fine. So if ideas like this are interesting to you, you shouldn't be reading this book. You should get Richard Dawkins _The Selfish Gene_, Matt Ridley's _Genome_, Daniel Dennett's _Darwin's Dangerous Idea_, or even Mark Ridley's compilation _Evolution_. These and many other books make the central ideas of evolutionary theory available and engaging to a lay audience. No specialist background required. Don't think Seth Godin is doing you much of a favor by 'summarizing tons of technical work' for you--hardly! He appears to have read a few of these same 'populare interest' science books and given it all his own spin.

This book really isn't worth the money. It would be better off as a 2-3 page magazine article; the other 250 pages are just fluff. It's so amateurish and undisciplined that it might as well be the author's precious journal of private thoughts and ideas.

Reviews like this are rarely very helpful, I realize. You heard about this book and wanted to check it out. Well, I did. It was awful. Check into the books I mention above. They are brilliant works written by very smart, well-respected people. You won't be disappointed.

Godin has authored a number of best-selling business books, notably Permission Marketing, Unleashing the Ideavirus, and most recently Purple Cow. He introduces and then develops a few core concepts in each, illustrating them with dozens of examples drawn from his extensive experience in marketing. Much as I admire his other books, I think this one is his most thoughtful and most thought-provoking, and therefore his most valuable thus far. True, he anchors his material within the framework of Charles Darwin's scientific research on natural selection. To his credit, Godin does not claim to be a scientist although his curiosity about scientific phenomena is immediately obvious. He allows Darwin to collaborate with him on the formulation of this book's Foreword. Then in the Introduction, Godin observes that he has been fascinated with Darwin's work for a long time and eventually realized that "companies are very much like species." However, unlike animals, many business executives "fret" about all the chaos which surrounds them. They sign with relief when surviving the latest major crisis. Here is one of Godin's key points: "I believe that there's a goal beyond survival, that we can actually thrive and find joy in working with all the chaos that surrounds us. That we can look forward to change and turbulence as an opportunity to increase our success." Godin believes that there is a new paradigm developing, "a pretty radical way of thinking about business, but one that's nothing new to an evolutionary biologist." Godin wrote this book to explain the paradigm, and, to convince his reader on why her or his enterprise should seize (not merely pursue) all of the new opportunities which that paradigm creates. "Transformative success" awaits those which do.

As I read this book, I was reminded of what Shira White asserts in New Ideas About New Ideas: To generate new ideas, it is first necessary to generate new ideas about how to do that. Otherwise, the results will probably be the same. I have yet to encounter anyone who denies the importance of "creative" or "innovative" thinking. We all realize that Edisons are few and far between. However, as White, Godin, and countless others have correctly pointed out, all of us can develop new perspectives and then the requisite skills by which to free ourselves from mindsets which preclude (and often denigrate) creative, innovative thinking. In Leading Change, Jim O'Toole characterizes these mindsets as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." Godin wrote this book to challenge but also to encourage his reader to consider very carefully the reasons why survival is not enough...and never will be. He summarizes his key points in the Introduction (pages 6-8) and then examines each in the ten chapters which follow.

One of the book's most valuable sections consists of what Godin characterizes as "The Important Questions." Each of the 37 is followed by a brief response and, when appropriate, a related question or two. Sometimes a list, such as of "the five elements of an evolving organization" (page 230) and "ten tactics for companies that want to evolve quickly" (page 231). "These are questions that can start you, your group and your company on the way to building a zooming organization, one that adapt and respond rather than [merely] react to change." As he does in his other books, Godin once again demonstrates his skills as a pyrotechnical thinker who develops his own nomenclature. Probably because he examines so many correlations between Darwin's scientific research in the mid-19th century and his own experiences in the contemporary business world, Godin includes a Glossary of terms which I think should be read first.

Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, Darwin, and the military battlefield are among the conceits which many writers of business books have used to frame their own ideas. More often than not, the correlations seem contrived but that is not true in this instance. Earlier I presumed to suggest that this is Godin's most important book thus far and now hope that I have offered, in this brief commentary, some reasons why I think so. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, William Bridges' Managing Transitions, John McMillan's Reinventing the Bazaar, and Andrew Hargadon's How Breakthroughs Happen.

Seth Godin has a ton of great ideas and about four of them are in this book. I have enjoyed other books and tapes by Mr. Godin and was hoping this would be another enjoyable read, it wasn't. He seemed to be talking about things he didn't really know much about so he filled it with a bunch of words that never said anything. Anytime he touched on internet business, you could sense his excitement and expertise. My advice, read something else by him first- such as his ideavirus book, now that is a good book.

I actually bought this book for my boss. My company is totally stuck, and hopefully this book will shake her up enough to realize that there's a way out for us... without requiring me to stay up all night three days a week.

I can't imagine what would happen if everyone in my company read it.

I thought the evolutionary biology stuff was pretty easy to understand, and as always, I laughed out loud reading his writing style. Well worth it.

Some of the case studies may be a bit dated today but that does not detract from the value in this powerful book from Godin. The core concept of business as evolutionary is fact. None of us can deny that the ever changing environment causes change in how we deliver value for revenue.

Facing business as an evolution is critical if we want to be successful beyond fashion and flash in our endeavors. Continuing to reinvent how we do things is a theme inside this read.

The terminology that Godin defines makes sense and although it hasn't and may never become the way we all see business, the concepts and thoughts behind them are significant.

Godin continually adds value to how to think about what we do. His survival guide, which could double as the title is well worth the time spent reading. As usual his message is as entertaining as it is thought provoking.

You won't be disappointed on the time you spend reading this book if you are concerned about your companies and your own future.

Buy it today. Comments are always invited.

I really enjoyed Seth Godin's Permission Marketing so I had high expectations of Survival is Not Enough and I must say that my expectations were easily met.

I read the book cover to cover in one day and found that Seth's insights were not only meaningful but inspirational.
Any person managing people or thinking of starting a company should invest in reading this book. It will definitely change the way you see the role of people in your company and how companies hold on to survival for dear life rather then embracing change to continue and succeed and as we're shown time and time again "Survival is Not Enough"

After reading "Unleashing the Idea virus" I got the idea that Seth Godin wasn't the typical business author but now that I have just finished reading "Survival Is Not Enough: Zooming, Evolution, and the Future of Your Company" I am sure that he is totally different from the rest... Does that make him better than the rest?... I still haven't made up my Mind!

I really enjoyed reading about business topics with a mix of Darwin's theories; It really opened my mind about certain similarities of both Science and Business. A lot of the writing of Seth Godin is so simple that can be considered brilliant.

Now, if someone asks me if what Godin wrote in this book will help me in Business I really wouldn't know what to answer on that specific question but I would say: DON'T EXPECT TO GET ALL THE BUSINESS SECRETS TO BE SUCCESSFUL JUST EXPECT TO GET REALLY COOL IDEAS, STATS AND A GREAT RELATION BETWEEN SCIENCE (Darwin) AND BUSINESS (Godin).

In this painstakingly researched book, the author goes way out on a limb but defends his point of view brilliantly.

Unlike popular science books, which only educate, this book is filled with practical advice about things you can do right now. The stories are funny and it's a fast read.

Recommended