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A review by jdintr
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
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.