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.
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An Astonishingly Vacuous Book.
This wasn't the first Godin book I tried to get into (many of my peers recommend him tirelessly for some reason) but it will surely be the last.I prefer books that offer an educated and informative look into a subject, and then substantiate their claims. But in Linchpin Godin just goes on and on for 240 pages about virtually nothing. The last straw for me was on around page 220 out of 240 where he claims--without any evidence whatsoever--that cancer can be cured by the placebo effect alone. At this point I just couldn't finish the book and put it down in disgust. You can't just SAY this kind of thing. It's preposterous, dangerous, and deeply insulting to the countless lives (including some members of my family) that have been lost to this horrible disease. To say these people could have just thought themselves to better health is, quite frankly, disgusting.This book is going STRAIGHT into the recycle bin. There is no way I will allow it to fill space on my bookshelf, and I surely won't be giving it to anyone else. All I know is that the carbon trapped in its pages deserves to be transformed into something more useful.It is just as the late Christopher Hitchens once said: "That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence."
Top reviews from other countries
Rakesh Prasad
This is a book that you don't read once but again and again and then again and then once again.
Reviewed in India on July 8, 2023
Rakesh Prasad
Reviewed in India on July 8, 2023
This was what I was unaware of till the time I avoided reading the book LINCHPIN by Seth Godin.
Amazon, now and then kept me showing this book in recommendations. I used to see it and never thought of checking it out. But one day I don't know why I decided to find out what was contained in the book.
I listened to the Audible sample provided by Amazon and downloaded the sample kindle chapters of the book, I read the book description and the feedbacks of the customers.
Then a line in the first paragraph of the Introduction made me go deep into the book even before I decided to buy it. The line was:
A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and gets the world unstuck.
This got me interested and I realised that atleast for me this is a book that can even better my mindset towards how I look at my job and career.
For people who are looking to get hired in their first job, the author writes in one of the chapters:
The only way to prove that you are... someone worth recruiting... is to show, not tell. Projects are the new resumes.
It talks about how to beat the competition and get a great job.
The book has been structured in an easy to read way.
The chapters of the book have lots of subheadings marked in bold. The paragraphs are short. Overall this makes the book appear eye pleasing. You feel like reading it.
As you read the pages of the book you will find that it is sprinkled with great many real life examples to explain a point the author wants to make.
The language is simple and almost each sentence captures your attention.
I love to highlight the key points on the pages and later on make notes on it. I had a hard time deciding what to leave out. My entire book is marked with different color pens and highlighters.
In the end the author provides a summary that concludes the book with his final thoughts of inspiration.
This book is not only for already employed people who are wanting to give meaning to their job and career but also for students who are preparing to start their career.
You should be able to derive the actionable from the book and implement it in your job and life.
And as a first time job seeker train yourself using the lessons from the pages of the book to prepare and be at the cutting edge of starting your career.
Once you do that you can experience the difference that you bring to your job.
But it's not a one time thing. It's a continuous process. It's WIP - Work In Progress.
Remember...
Linchpin is all about your choices, your future and your potential to make a huge difference in whatever field you choose.
Go for it!
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Andrea Ledezma
A must read if your are stuck for fear
Reviewed in Spain on June 15, 2023