Linchpin – a blog book review

Seth Godin, starts with this as a subtitle. PERFECT PLAY SETH!  I will often do these book reviews because I like to read.    When I read I check mark, underline, and dog-ear the corners of really great concepts… I figured, why not share a bit of this with my readers.  After all, more of my friends would not look at me strangely when I ask them if they would read a book if I gave them one…

So here you go, ENJOY and if you like what you read, go out to Amazon or your local book store and grabthis read –  it is truly a gem.

Random thoughts/extracts/comments and in no particular order:

1. “You are a Genius” – Seth started with this, I like to think God created us all to be a genius at something!
2. “I couldn’t have written this book ten years ago, our economy wanted you to fit it, it paid you well to fit in, and it took care of you if you fit in.  Now, like it or not, the world wants something different from you.”  How true is this… we all have to be shaken out of a routine and into new ways of thinking and delivering results to stand out.
3.  “Stop asking what’s in it for you and start giving gifts that change people.  Then and only then, will you have achieved your potential.”
4.  “Becoming a LINCHPIN is a stepwise process, a path in which you develop the attributes that make you INDESPINSABLE.”  “Linchpins are the essential building blocks of tomorrow’s high value organizations.”   I like that thought! In my home life, community and workplace!
5. “We need original thinkers, provocateurs, and people who care.”
6. “Indispensable businesses race to the top instead.”   On Trader Joe’s…. But Trader Joe’s keeps growing, because the combination of engaged employees, cutting-edge products, and fun brings people back.”
7. “The web has made kicking ass easier to achieve, and mediocrity harder to sustain. Mediocrity now howls in protest.”    Mediocrity to me is annoying.  Why do it!
8. “Create something worth talking about.”
9. “You can see the marketplace as being limited, a zero-sum game”…. Or you can see it as unlimited.  A place where talent creates growth and market increases in space.
10. “The new American Dream…the one that markets around the world are embracing as fast as they can, is this: Be remarkable, Be Generous, Create Art, Make Judgement calls, CONNECT people and ideas.”
11. “The competitive advantage the marketplace demands is someone more human, connected and mature.”
12. “In the space of two generations, we created a consumer culture. There wasn’t one, and then there was…”
13. “The distinction between cogs and LINCHPINS is largely one of ATTITUDE, not learning.”
14. What they should teach in school:  “Only two things:
    1.)   Solve interesting problems.  2.)  Lead.”
15. “An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity and boldness to challenge the status quo.”
16. “The combination of passion and art is what makes someone a LINCHPIN.”
17. “The ultimate gift you can give, the one that will repay you today and tomorrow and heal our world, is that gift.  The gift of CONNECTION, of ART OF LOVE OF DIGNITY.”
18. “Real artists ship” is the entire focus of the chapter titled RESISTANCE- This chapter is awesome- It is all about getting something done and out the door…i.e. SHIPPING.    This chapter is worth the entire book-
19. “The LINCHPIN is able to invent a future, fall in love with it, live in it, and then abandon it on a moment’s notice.”
20. The SEVEN ABILITIES OF A LINCHPIN:
    1) Providing a unique interface between members of an org.
    2) Delivering UNIQUE creativity
    3) Managing a situation or organization of great complexity
    4) Leading customers
    5) Inspiring Staff
    6) Providing deep domain knowledge
    7) Possessing a unique talent