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A review by jmcphers
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
4.0
Chances are good that you've heard some worn motivational speech about what a unique and special little snowflake you are. This is what I was expecting from Linchpin, but there's actually some good information in here. The book rests on two main premises.
The first is that if you do a job that can be performed by following a procedure, you are the new factory worker, and you're basically replaceable by anyone else who can also follow a procedure. This is most people, because people find comfort in being told what to do.
The second is that you can become a "linchpin", an irreplacable person, by doing the hard work of connection, creativity, and art (Seth's definition of "art" is very loose), things that are human and personal and can never be automated. Linchpins have a vision and they help connect and move people.
It's not hard to argue that the white-collar worker is no longer safe from having his or her job automated away or outsourced, and it's also not hard to argue that thinking and navigating without a map will make you stand out from the crowd. Thus a lot of Seth's statements seem a little obvious, and he certainly doesn't mind repeating them: this book, while encouraging, has a bit of filler. Seth writes exactly the way he speaks: the chapters are full of short little sections, half a page to a couple of pages in length. These sections are full of stubby little sentences and don't even try to connect to each other.
The best part of the book (and by "best" I mean "the part that made me think about something in a new way") is a chapter entitled The Resistance, which argues that the reason we don't take risks and make art and do our real best is, at its root, biological. Chances are you've felt like you were pushing against a wall when you thought about stepping out or up and this mysterious force is analyzed in some depth.
This book falls squarely into the "motivational reading" category. It probably won't tell you something you've never heard before, but it may scare and/or cajole you into becoming more than just another head for the headcount. Godin is funny and insightful and the book's a quick read--I recommend it.
The first is that if you do a job that can be performed by following a procedure, you are the new factory worker, and you're basically replaceable by anyone else who can also follow a procedure. This is most people, because people find comfort in being told what to do.
The second is that you can become a "linchpin", an irreplacable person, by doing the hard work of connection, creativity, and art (Seth's definition of "art" is very loose), things that are human and personal and can never be automated. Linchpins have a vision and they help connect and move people.
It's not hard to argue that the white-collar worker is no longer safe from having his or her job automated away or outsourced, and it's also not hard to argue that thinking and navigating without a map will make you stand out from the crowd. Thus a lot of Seth's statements seem a little obvious, and he certainly doesn't mind repeating them: this book, while encouraging, has a bit of filler. Seth writes exactly the way he speaks: the chapters are full of short little sections, half a page to a couple of pages in length. These sections are full of stubby little sentences and don't even try to connect to each other.
The best part of the book (and by "best" I mean "the part that made me think about something in a new way") is a chapter entitled The Resistance, which argues that the reason we don't take risks and make art and do our real best is, at its root, biological. Chances are you've felt like you were pushing against a wall when you thought about stepping out or up and this mysterious force is analyzed in some depth.
This book falls squarely into the "motivational reading" category. It probably won't tell you something you've never heard before, but it may scare and/or cajole you into becoming more than just another head for the headcount. Godin is funny and insightful and the book's a quick read--I recommend it.