I’ve been worshiping at the altar of Seth Godin for more than a year now; the latest bit of WWSGD inspiration can be found in his recent book, Linchpin. I’ve decided that Linchpin is the B-2 Bomber of books – it works in stealth mode and sneaks up on you.
My reaction initially was that it read like a collection of blog posts. Well, okay. I like his blogs but after all, harumph, books should read like books. A funny thing happened: I’d spend the rest of the day thinking about the few pages I read that morning. Maybe I’d email someone with an idea raised in a particular chapter, or mention a concept in a conversation.
I started taking notes and tagging pages. I gave a copy of the book to someone I want to be a Linchpin in my own organization. Amazing! So simple to read, so much to think about. Here’s a favorite: use the simple phrase, “if only”.
‘If only’ is a great way to eliminate your excuse du jour. Seth Godin
I could get my project done on time if only . . .
I could do something to help earthquake victims if only . . .
I could become indispensable at my job if only . . .
Use If only to frame your reasons for not doing something, or for not doing it smarter, or better, or faster, or kinder. You’ll either gain clarity, or else realize you just called yourself out on your own BS.
Lindsay – thanks for sharing this. I also really like his stuff but I wasn’t sure how applicable it was going to be. I had this idea that it was more along the lines of ways to be remarkable enough to work your way to the top of an organization. So thanks for the heads up – it’ll get its rotation on my iPod quite a bit sooner now.