Seth Godin challenges conventional wisdom (again!) with his new book Linchpin. In it, he says that we have a choice of being cogs in the big corporate wheel or sharing our best gifts with others. Some companies call people like this a pain in the ass and others embrace them. He calls them linchpins. Mr. Godin believes they’re indispensable and have undeniable qualities and habits that we all have and should expose and promote.
Mr. Godin goes to great lengths to tell us how corporations have reinforced the notion of sameness while seeking lowest cost delivery models. Linchpins don’t follow this model.
There are four or five major precepts he promotes while ultimately letting us know that we have to give to receive. I believe the funniest is the Lizard Brain, which is a part of our subconscious (somehow along the way we were trained to have it) that only seeks food and safety.
If you accept the notion that you have undeniable, indispensable gifts, Linchpin goes on to say how “The Resistance” will constantly fight you. Why? You’re of two brains, one being called the Lizard Brain. He says that a part of us is conformist and seeks to fit in and by doing so, we rob the world of our best work and what is right for the rest of the world. The other brain seeks to be an artist and knows that non-conformity through the sharing of our gifts (through emotional labor) is the right thing to do. Emotional labor are all of the uncomfortable tasks that we know we have to do; despite the norms that hold us back.
I believe he does a wonderful job discussing how we got to the notion of sameness (or nourishing our lizard brains). Corporations are forced to do what’s best for the shareholder and unfortunately, that shareholder doesn’t really care how they did it. Individual shareholders don’t have a voice, only the market. Unfortunately, now, the market consists of a few decision-makers and lots of computers backed up by lobbyists and politicians.
Boiling it down: Mr. Godin underscores the eternal conflict between our hearts (and the things we know are right, the things we know we have to do) and the notion of sameness, conformity, and lowest cost delivery.
Mr. Godin is a linchpin and rebel. As with his other books, there are a significant number of unattributed references and my lizard brain had to fight this notion to accept his message. I also had a difficult time knowing which things he was promoting over others but this is his style. To him, perhaps it is all most important. My lizard brain fought against that so I could form some conclusions and write this! My lizard brain makes my head spin. Does yours?
All in all, a 4 out of 5. It would have had a 5 if I could have seen a PowerPoint first. Get it!
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- Quieting the Lizard Brain (incsub.org)
- Seth Godin Gives It Away (mneylon.com)
