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joelkarpowitz's review against another edition
3.0
Am I alone in thinking that every motivational work book could pretty much be summarized in two or three paragraphs? It's not that I don't enjoy them, because the style of this sort of self-help book tends to be very conversational and with lots of entertaining (or semi-entertaining) examples. But most of the time it seems like the author has about a handful of ideas designed to make you rethink your approach to your job/life/etc. and then spends two hundred plus pages belaboring the point. It's why, though these books are easy to read, I never get particularly excited about reading them.
That said, in Linchpin author Seth Godin did make some great suggestions that have encouraged me to shift the way I think about my career. In essence, Godin suggests that the real key to success, career satisfaction, and (though he downplays it) profit is to make yourself an indispensable part of your organization, to figure out what "art" you have to offer the world/your company/your clients/etc. and then not be afraid to go "off script" and make human connections doing so. He talks about getting out of the mindset that all work is about exchange (I do a service, you pay me) and being taken care of and should be about giving gifts and blazing trails. It's all very shiny, happy, "let's hold hands and sing songs and realize how special you can be if you'll get out of your comfort zone," and some of his advice is still a little pie-in-the-sky (e.g., the best linchpins don't need resumes because their work and what they've accomplished is their resume--they don't fit in as an easily replaceable cog, so why would they apply for the same jobs that everyone else with a resume does), but I like rethinking my job as a teacher as art, and I like rethinking how I teach.
I got an email this week from a former student who was amazed and thought I would need to know that he got his first college essay assignment and that the teacher said they didn't want a standard five-paragraph essay. This was a student who I had repeated conversations with about understanding the form and organization and why it mattered. I wrote him back to tell him that--shocker--I agreed with his teacher. The five-paragraph essay is boring, it's flat, and any "formula" for good writing eventually grows stale and, well, formulaic. But the basics of learning how to write a five paragraph essay (what I had hoped I was teaching him) give you the groundwork to explode the formula. Once you know how to organize and clarify your thoughts, you can go a million different directions with them. Yes, I also stopped (for the most part) writing five paragraph essays after high school. But that's because I knew how to structure my thoughts in ways that were (for the most part, I hope) clear and understandable. Once you can do that, then it doesn't matte whether you're writing one paragraph or a thirty-page essay. The form provides a base, but the art comes from the ideas and insights that the form helps you to make clear.
I wonder if I'm teaching my students that enough. I don't want my students to all produce the same end product. I want them to discover their own voices and ideas. Every essay, even with tenth graders, I try to tell them that there's not a "right" essay that I'm looking for. There's not a single answer to an essay prompt, there are many. It's taking their unique insights, supporting them, and presenting them in a clear, meaningful, and convincing manner. I think that's what Godin's getting at. Quit thinking that you have to be the same kind of teacher (or web designer, banker, etc.) as everyone else, and figure out what you have to bring to the table that's unique. That's your art, and that's what you can nurture and develop and share with the world. Doing so turns you from a cog into a linchpin--and what do you know, it makes your job more enjoyable as well.
That's not a bad message. It's one that has had me reconsidering how I approach my subject and what it is I want my students to walk away from my classes thinking, feeling, and understanding. It's got me thinking about what unique abilities I have as a teacher that I can bring to bear more fruitfully--things like patience, and my sense of humor, and my expectations, and my tech savvy-ness, and so on and so forth. So I guess, for all the fluff, I like what Godin's saying here. (And what do you know, I explained it in five paragraphs after all.)
Grade: B
That said, in Linchpin author Seth Godin did make some great suggestions that have encouraged me to shift the way I think about my career. In essence, Godin suggests that the real key to success, career satisfaction, and (though he downplays it) profit is to make yourself an indispensable part of your organization, to figure out what "art" you have to offer the world/your company/your clients/etc. and then not be afraid to go "off script" and make human connections doing so. He talks about getting out of the mindset that all work is about exchange (I do a service, you pay me) and being taken care of and should be about giving gifts and blazing trails. It's all very shiny, happy, "let's hold hands and sing songs and realize how special you can be if you'll get out of your comfort zone," and some of his advice is still a little pie-in-the-sky (e.g., the best linchpins don't need resumes because their work and what they've accomplished is their resume--they don't fit in as an easily replaceable cog, so why would they apply for the same jobs that everyone else with a resume does), but I like rethinking my job as a teacher as art, and I like rethinking how I teach.
I got an email this week from a former student who was amazed and thought I would need to know that he got his first college essay assignment and that the teacher said they didn't want a standard five-paragraph essay. This was a student who I had repeated conversations with about understanding the form and organization and why it mattered. I wrote him back to tell him that--shocker--I agreed with his teacher. The five-paragraph essay is boring, it's flat, and any "formula" for good writing eventually grows stale and, well, formulaic. But the basics of learning how to write a five paragraph essay (what I had hoped I was teaching him) give you the groundwork to explode the formula. Once you know how to organize and clarify your thoughts, you can go a million different directions with them. Yes, I also stopped (for the most part) writing five paragraph essays after high school. But that's because I knew how to structure my thoughts in ways that were (for the most part, I hope) clear and understandable. Once you can do that, then it doesn't matte whether you're writing one paragraph or a thirty-page essay. The form provides a base, but the art comes from the ideas and insights that the form helps you to make clear.
I wonder if I'm teaching my students that enough. I don't want my students to all produce the same end product. I want them to discover their own voices and ideas. Every essay, even with tenth graders, I try to tell them that there's not a "right" essay that I'm looking for. There's not a single answer to an essay prompt, there are many. It's taking their unique insights, supporting them, and presenting them in a clear, meaningful, and convincing manner. I think that's what Godin's getting at. Quit thinking that you have to be the same kind of teacher (or web designer, banker, etc.) as everyone else, and figure out what you have to bring to the table that's unique. That's your art, and that's what you can nurture and develop and share with the world. Doing so turns you from a cog into a linchpin--and what do you know, it makes your job more enjoyable as well.
That's not a bad message. It's one that has had me reconsidering how I approach my subject and what it is I want my students to walk away from my classes thinking, feeling, and understanding. It's got me thinking about what unique abilities I have as a teacher that I can bring to bear more fruitfully--things like patience, and my sense of humor, and my expectations, and my tech savvy-ness, and so on and so forth. So I guess, for all the fluff, I like what Godin's saying here. (And what do you know, I explained it in five paragraphs after all.)
Grade: B
shanzberg's review against another edition
2.0
ugh. i wanted to like this and get something out of it, but it was not great. i was expected research-based, anecdotes, etc., and instead, it was seth godin's ramblings about art and giving it away and blah blah blah. it also struck me as having a very upper-middle class/affluent edge, even though he did try to make the case that even janitors can be linchpins. the sentiment is nice, but it's not reality. clunky at times, there were some interesting ideas, but i think this was also written for an older generation. a lot of the ideas struck me as what my generation has been trained to think about, but always good reminders. disappointing read, with some good tidbits.
jdintr's review against another edition
3.0
This was a frustrating but ultimately rewarding book for me.
Godin's shtick is re-imagining business-ese, the "lynchpin" (TM) in the title is an example of his approach. The challenge, comes, though, in chapters where monikers add to monikers and the reader can't follow Godin's argument--if there ever is one.
For example, the chapter "Becoming the Linchipin" seems to have a pretty forthright aim: leading the reader to build the skills that the book is about. Yet Godin hops around from anecdote to anecdote, moniker to moniker, and completely loses the point. To "linchpin" he adds terms like "emotional labor," and "leverage," which of course leads to "linchpin leverage" (TM) and continues on to a trichotomy (?) of the terms fearless, reckless and feckless.
Every blog-sized anecdote unwinds counter-intuitive observations, but they pile upon each other so much that the point is lost. I found myself underlining key ideas, then immediately realizing how ridiculous they were, as on page 53, when, after underlining, "it's the art and the insight and the bravery of value creation that are rewarded," I wrote in the margin, "BS, but looks so good on the page."
Of course, anyone who has five or more years of real-world experience knows that "linchpins" are appreciated, at times, but they are never valued and seldom, if ever, rewarded. At some point, most "linchpins" realize they are nothing more than cogs--often after they ask for higher pay or more responsibility in the organization. Perhaps Godin's book could be given along with a Timex watch as a going away present for those who have learned just how "indispensable" they actually were.
With that said, I did find actionable ideas from Godin's book, and I feel that--while it won't help me in my full-time job one whit--it did encourage me to pursue freelance projects that might eventually produce the rewards that being indispensable in any organization will not.
That's why I'm sticking with three stars for this uneven book.
Godin's shtick is re-imagining business-ese, the "lynchpin" (TM) in the title is an example of his approach. The challenge, comes, though, in chapters where monikers add to monikers and the reader can't follow Godin's argument--if there ever is one.
For example, the chapter "Becoming the Linchipin" seems to have a pretty forthright aim: leading the reader to build the skills that the book is about. Yet Godin hops around from anecdote to anecdote, moniker to moniker, and completely loses the point. To "linchpin" he adds terms like "emotional labor," and "leverage," which of course leads to "linchpin leverage" (TM) and continues on to a trichotomy (?) of the terms fearless, reckless and feckless.
Every blog-sized anecdote unwinds counter-intuitive observations, but they pile upon each other so much that the point is lost. I found myself underlining key ideas, then immediately realizing how ridiculous they were, as on page 53, when, after underlining, "it's the art and the insight and the bravery of value creation that are rewarded," I wrote in the margin, "BS, but looks so good on the page."
Of course, anyone who has five or more years of real-world experience knows that "linchpins" are appreciated, at times, but they are never valued and seldom, if ever, rewarded. At some point, most "linchpins" realize they are nothing more than cogs--often after they ask for higher pay or more responsibility in the organization. Perhaps Godin's book could be given along with a Timex watch as a going away present for those who have learned just how "indispensable" they actually were.
With that said, I did find actionable ideas from Godin's book, and I feel that--while it won't help me in my full-time job one whit--it did encourage me to pursue freelance projects that might eventually produce the rewards that being indispensable in any organization will not.
That's why I'm sticking with three stars for this uneven book.
naida_'s review against another edition
5.0
What I wouldn't say about this book is that it's "well written". It's often repetitive, the structure was on occasion difficult to grasp, and more than once I wished I had an outline to remind myself which section I was on.
Still, in my opinion it deserves five stars (or even more) simply because of the importance of the message it's conveying. Reading it made me think about a lot of people and their potential (including myself), and that's reason enough to believe the author is onto something.
Still, in my opinion it deserves five stars (or even more) simply because of the importance of the message it's conveying. Reading it made me think about a lot of people and their potential (including myself), and that's reason enough to believe the author is onto something.
deeparcher's review against another edition
5.0
Read this book. Yes, you. Make arrangements right now to borrow, buy or just read the entire thing huddled up in the bookstore. You owe it to yourself and everyone else to read this one.
qkjgrubb's review against another edition
4.0
This is my first Seth Godin book and it will not be my last. I can certainly see why he is so popular. I agree with most of his points and left the book very excited about my own decisions to do my art and change the world, giving generously and conquering the lizard brain. Toward the end, it seems he got a little repetitive and in some cases his anecdotes and his points were a bit of a incongruous match, but that's easy to forgive because of his passion. I can't wait to go back through it. I read a copy from my local library and made a pencil mark in the margin every where I found a good quote to use. I promise I'll erase it when I'm done.
drewhawkins's review against another edition
4.0
Seth Godin is a great read almost anytime. Advice on how to not become an "interchangeable part" at work.
moniponijabloni's review against another edition
2.0
This is my second Seth Godin book and I continue to be disappointed.
I bought this book because I agree with its message and I wanted to get some insight on *how* one becomes a truly indispensable person.
What I got was a collection of affirmations, basically. Very nice and all, but with little to no substance.
Read this it you have a very traditional mindset and want to change it. Don't read this if you already agree with the message and want something valuable.
I bought this book because I agree with its message and I wanted to get some insight on *how* one becomes a truly indispensable person.
What I got was a collection of affirmations, basically. Very nice and all, but with little to no substance.
Read this it you have a very traditional mindset and want to change it. Don't read this if you already agree with the message and want something valuable.
davemmett's review against another edition
5.0
This book is definitely one of the best I've read this year. I really enjoy Seth's perspective that anyone can be an artist if they give generously to others, and pave their own way in the world instead of just following the map that's been laid before them. I'm not particularly interested in being an 'artist' in the traditional definition, but using Seth's definition, it's the sort of thing all of us aspire to; to help others, to be memorable, to make a difference in the world.
If nothing else, I'd recommend reading the chapter called "The Resistance", which is about the half-metaphor, half-science concept of the lizard brain - the part of our brain that tells us we can't be remarkable, that wants us to blend into the crowd, and wants us to be safe. I'm finding that now whenever I say to myself that I shouldn't do something because it might be difficult or put myself out there, I'm calling out the lizard brain in my head and then going for it. Or at least, I'm doing a few more things that I might have otherwise not done.
If nothing else, I'd recommend reading the chapter called "The Resistance", which is about the half-metaphor, half-science concept of the lizard brain - the part of our brain that tells us we can't be remarkable, that wants us to blend into the crowd, and wants us to be safe. I'm finding that now whenever I say to myself that I shouldn't do something because it might be difficult or put myself out there, I'm calling out the lizard brain in my head and then going for it. Or at least, I'm doing a few more things that I might have otherwise not done.