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Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
 Thank You and is "Everyone for themselves" really enough? August 30, 2010
Seven Dials (London, England)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Read the reviews of this book earlier in the year when Seth Godin released 3,000+ copies to anyone who wanted to review it and it's one gigantic love-in. Not so much for me. This book makes me slightly angry. It's this bit, right at the start: "you have no right to that job or that career. After years of being taught that you have to be an average worker for an average organisation, that society would support you for sticking it out, you discover that the rules have changed. The only way to succeed is to be remarkable, to be talked about... The only way to get what you're worth is to stand out, to exert emotional labour, to be seen as indispensable and to produce interactions that organisations and people care deeply about."
Where oh where to begin? Nobody has a right to a career or a job - but that doesn't mean it's okay for the CEO to run the company into bankruptcy or outsource your job to Chittagong. Godin accepts the current view that the behaviour of corporations is like the weather: you can't control it, you can't predict it, it doesn't make sense and there's no point complaining. Except the last time I looked, corporations were run by people who made decisions: it isn't the weather that puts a Tesco outside your nice little town and closes the high street in eighteen months flat, it's some guys in Tesco's operations planning department who know exactly how hard the store will hit the local traders. Godin never even nods at the possibility of a political solution to endemic job insecurity and declining real wages. He only needed to say, as Robert Townsend surely would have, "until the politicians do something to stop corporations behaving like juvenile delinquents fouling the neighbourhood, it's going to be every man and woman for themselves" and perhaps he feels that's what he has said.
Trouble is, the advice doesn't scale. We can't all be remarkable - because then remarkable would be the new average. If everybody's somebody then nobody's anybody - as Groucho Marx said. You can't work Godin's programme if your boss is a bully; if you and your work are recorded, monitored or targeted; or if you have low self-esteem or no confidence. You'll need to move bosses, companies or jobs first. To work his program you need a certain amount of organisational ambiguity around you, or at least a boss who isn't insecure, vindictive or a control-freak. Also you need to be the kind of person who is comfortable taking advantage of the ambiguity, lack of direction, clueless managers and empty policies that characterise the corporate world today. Put those two requirements together and it's not many people.
Neither will being "indispensable" - a "linchpin" - alter your chances of being laid off one jot. No-one is safe when HR put the names into the hat. Managers use re-organisations to settle scores and get rid of people who don't fit in first, and then think about the job. Many re-organisations are done for the express purpose of removing skilled, experienced (and therefore more expensive) people from the workforce, so that the company can provide its no-quality, price-driven products more cheaply.
I don't like the insinuation that if your life sucks and you're just a decent ordinary guy or gal, well, then it's your fault. It feels like blaming the victim. That stuff about reaching out and trusting the Universe, following our bliss, giving gifts so that we receive a hundred-fold and all that is... tosh. It's a very useful line of argument for the guy who just closed the office in Lower Cokeatington, putting a hundred people out of work: "best thing that will ever happen to you, work out what you want, go after your dream, take responsibility for your life instead of letting someone else run it". Anything the Bad Guys can turn to their use that easily has to be flawed.
I hope one day Seth Godin realises that self-help books aren't enough and only a political movement will do. He would be a superb spokesman and he's nearly there: you can hear the disgust for modern corporations in his writing. It's a disgust felt by most grown-ups who have been through the redundancy / re-organisation mill at least once. Until then, it's every man and woman for themselves, and in that sad world, a lot of what he says - suitably sobered up and de-hyped - is pretty good. Read the bit about Thank You and you'll see why I chose the title I did.
 Teaches you about the way you think and act in business August 23, 2010
John Walter
What 'Purple Cow' was to products and services, 'Linchpin' is to career development. Seth Godin's basic thesis is that "Linchpins" are those who can see the reality of today, describe a better tomorow and then make it happen through their own ability to share ideas, make connections and drive change through their organisations, irrespective of their place in its formal reporting structure. It's a little way out in places but well worth the read for what it can teach you about the way you think and act in business.
 A book you must read August 23, 2010
Rob Cameron (Warwickshire, United Kingdom)
I bought and read Linchpin as the result of a recommendation of a business associate. I found the book to be extremely engaging and to offer some challenging thoughts and perspectives.
Within the book Godin covers several topics that impact on an individuals abilty to stand out, to become indispensable. The initial chapters of the book question the value of the modern educational system, rote learning and education to pass exams, rather than developing individuals who can think independently is one topic that struck a chord with me. Amongst other topics are the inner resistance that impedes us, the Lizard Brain, and the concept of 'shipping'.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Depending on your viewpoint you may find it contentious, however, I recommend that you read it.
Rich though rambling guide on how to become indispensable at work August 2, 2010
Rolf Dobelli (Switzerland)
Warning: If you absorb all business blogger Seth Godin's advice, you could end up overworked and underappreciated. Godin's antidote to mediocrity and conformity is so effective and convincing that it may have the unintended consequence of making you the go-to person for your whole organization. Godin stipulates that everyone faces a choice: An individual can choose to live day after day, year after year, languidly going through the motions, doing work that is devoid of excitement and imagination. Or, he or she can choose a path that promotes uniqueness and ingenuity by becoming a "linchpin," an invaluable, indispensable employee, the center of all a company's activities. Godin declares that if you believe in yourself and your potential for greatness, kindle the creative spark within, embrace risk and seek the good in others, you can become an influential linchpin. Although Godin writes in his signature rambling style, which some readers may find distracting, getAbstract applauds this unique, absorbing business book, whose reach extends far beyond the conference room. The author has done his part; your path is up to you. Proceed with caution - even being a linchpin has its hazards.
The way "motivational" books ought to be made August 1, 2010
Mr. A. Maughan (London, UK)
My latest LinkedIn status says something along the lines of: in these supposed times of economic uncertainty, the last thing we want is to feel insignificant. As a freelancer and a former employee, no matter how good I got at my job, many of my previous clients saw me as a dispensable slave.
This book is all about becoming indispensable at work, exposing a theory I've had and nobody wanted to understand: that we have all been sold - and scammed into - the "ideal" of being cogs in a machine.
But rather than solve all your problems for you, as "self-help" often books claim, Linchpin provides the reader with food for thought. The book focuses heavily on creativity and "art" to become indispensable, both of which are unique to everybody - so dishing out advice on how to do things would be useless.
Although Seth Godin makes occasional references to Buddhism, he does a very good job at making his points without sounding preachy or self-important. It's very much left up to the reader to decide what they will do with the information given.
I would recommend this book to anyone who no longer wants to be a "good little boy/girl" and do what they're told, which would be a select few people. It will provide a good amount of motivation to get you thinking about your situation.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
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