Linchpin: Are You Indispensible? (A call to arms from Seth Godin)

A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and gets the world unstuck.
- Seth Godin, Linchpin

Genius Marketer Markets Book Ingeniously
If Seth Godin was doing anything with his past books it was perhaps leading a trail of breadcrumbs to this current book, Linchpin. Where Tribes (2008) was a call to finding a following and to stake out a territory as a leader, Linchpin, released today (January 26th – Happy Australia* Day and Happy Republic Day in India, by the way) is more a call to arms. It reaches out, grabs your lapels (or collar, if you don’t have lapels, or neck if you don’t have a collar) and gives you a good shake. Linchpin directly addresses the anxiety of our time and offers a self-directed path away from that experience. It points toward a future where we can control how and where and with whom we will make meaning. And it does so with a joy and enthusiasm that are all Seth’s own.

I’ve long been an avid reader of Seth (to call him Mr. Godin, while proper, seems inappropriate given the long acquaintance we have had, however one-sided as it has been.) I’ve succumbed to the Ideavirus; I’ve Dipped; and, I’ve fallen for a Purple Cow. When the opportunity arose to make a donation to The Acumen Fund (established by Jacqueline Novogratz – featured at the number two slot on the book jacket blurb) in order to receive an advance copy of this book, I jumped at the chance. Contribute to a good cause? Read the latest from a favored author? What’s not to love? The genius of this is that I talked about the unique promotion of the book widely. I talked about my anticipation as I awaited my advance copy. I talked to people as I read the book. And now, I’m fulfilling my final obligation (willingly) as part of the original promotional bargain, I’m writing about the book. Like I said, ingenious genius.

Recognizing that what worked isn’t any longer
I have a background in education and have long recognized that the structure of much Western education continues to represent a response to the needs of the newly Industrial Age. I cannot begin to count the number of ages that have been (and gone) since that time. When Linchpin identified that educational indoctrination as something that prevents as from achieving our potential, in all its self-fulfilling messiness, I crowed. Finally, arguments long had in academic circles were to receive a wider airing and I couldn’t be happier.

If an aversion to risk is hardwired into us, taking that to its extreme and designing and living a system of education that only prepares us for managing that risk is a crying shame. Seth’s response, that we have created and continue to create a dispensable, interchangeable workforce when the present cries out for something much more robust, is refreshing to say the least. If we are what we do, then let’s do something new, because what we used to do won’t do any more. In short, Seth is inviting us to each become a “linchpin”.

Choosing to be something new and true
Keith Ferrazzi in his book, Never Eat Alone, talked about the power of abundance and notes that, “the currency of real networking is not greed but generosity.” Seth takes this concept of the power of generosity and, instead of applying it to networking, he applies it to personal insight, productivity and market growth. Being generous, being capable, and being indispensable – in short, being a linchpin – “leads to more opportunities and ultimately a payoff for everyone involved.”

In this book, Seth wrestles with what it means to be a linchpin. It isn’t glamorous. It isn’t necessarily singular. What it is, is essential to organizational success. With the linchpin an organization frays and begins to fall (in some cases fly) apart. Linchpins, through their perseverance, talent and charm, create organizational momentum. Their self-awareness of their capabilities, combined with the application of that knowledge and the soundness of their judgments make their contribution to organizations exponential in terms of impact.

On the benefit of hard labor
Perhaps where Linchpin seemed to really come into its own for me was when Seth began to re-frame the concept of work. He offers up the concept of hard work as something physical, or boring, or mundane; then he concludes that perhaps the important work, the investment of our emotional selves in our efforts, is a more important form of hard work. The emotional life of the workforce is often relegated to the backwaters of Human Resources practices, something around which everyone should tread lightly. Seth, gloriously wades into the middle of this and calls out emotional labor for what it is.

Having done my share of work both in the human resources domain and in the volunteer world, where emotional laboring is the order of the day, to have someone describe that work accurately as “a gift” is wonderful. It requires engagement. It demands the best of us. It draws on our creativity, or passions, our insight, our willingness to take risks and to be generous. I love that this kind of work lies at the heart of being a linchpin in Seth’s eyes.

The job is not your work; what you do with your heart and soul is the work.
- Seth Godin, Linchpin

Make your own way – make art through connection
One of the only challenges I would have had with the linchpin concept was that for all its generosity of spirit this was obviously only going to be an individualized call to action. What I wanted, certainly needed, was an understanding of how being a linchpin connected to others. After all, that’s what a linchpin does, it holds stuff together. Just when was getting worried, I was granted comfort when read into the chapter “The Culture of Connection” with the lead sub-header, “The Linchpin Can’t Succeed in Isolation.”

After all, for a linchpin to be effective, they need the connection of others. Because if they are not connecting, and giving, what the heck are they doing? Take a look at Linchpin, I think this book is not only an invaluable tool I think it is a great and necessary call to action.

*The Sir Donald Bradman reference (p.62) was especially appreciated, Seth.