Linchpin by Seth Godin Book Review

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          Linchpin is a book written by Seth Godin. He's written many books, including The Purple Cow. I’ve seen a lecture of his in a TED Talk on Youtube. He speaks a lot about ideas, art, and entrepreneurship; including marketing, especially online and network marketing. The ideas in this book can be applied to all of these areas.
          The book begins with the statement that, “all of us are geniuses sometimes….[but] we trade our genius and artistry for apparent stability” (1). When we were children we were natural artists, poets, and, if we ever had a lemonade stand, entrepreneurs (31). But as we grew up we were taught the “old American Dream” (32) and that was to show up to work on time, do as you were told, work hard, fit in and don’t stand out (32). The school system brainwashed us into becoming factory workers; into becoming average by following instructions and fitting in like cogs in a machine (5). Throughout history, paradigms changed as technology evolved. First, we lived in a hunter/gatherer paradigm and we were all hunters and gatherers. Then, when farming was invented, we all became farmers. And when the factory took its place in civilization, the model was to be a factory worker. But now the factory is falling apart. What are we left to work with? Art (17). This is the whole point of the book: the paradigm for success in this day and age is to be an artist.
          What is art? Godin’s definition of art is “the ability to change people with your work” (91). He goes on to say that, “[it] is the intentional act of using your humanity to create a change in another person. How and where you do that art is a cultural choice in the moment...A warm smile to a stranger on an airplane at the right moment is an artistic endeavor…” (99). You don’t have to be an Academy Award-winning film director to be an artist (99). Art entails risk; risk of rejection. In a world taught to fear standing out, those who don’t have the guts to create something that could change another person and give it away are punished, “ruthlessly,” by the economy (100). 
          This book is entitled, “Linchpin.” What is a linchpin? A literal linchpin is a simple metal pin passed through the end of an axle to hold the wheel in place (49). A metaphorical linchpin is a person who is vital to a company's success, because of the value they add to the product or service. They “keep the wheel on the wagon,” so to speak. Godin states, “The combination of passion and art is what makes someone a linchpin” (92). It is repeated very many times in the book that a linchpin is an “indispensable” (8) person that cannot be easily replaced like a cog in a machine, because in this world there are so many cogs and so few linchpins. In Godin’s words, “She is the key player, the one who’s difficult to live without, the person you can build something around...If a Purple Cow is a product that’s worth talking about, the indispensable employee—I call her a linchpin— is a person who’s worth finding and keeping” (8).
          Why are there so many cogs and so few linchpins? Because people feel lost without a manual; they want someone to give them instruction, because that was how we were brought up to relate to the world through our schooling. And for a long time it has been working, making life easier and better. Trading our time for a direction to go in and a paycheck made sense (9). 
          However, in the age of factories, a major objective was to have the highest PERL (Percentage of Easily Replaced Laborers) possible. If workers were easily replaced, they could be paid less (9). At this point, the author brings up a very popular business book called The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber and quotes the book on what it says about the perfect business model: “‘The model will be operated by people with the lowest possible level of skill’” (10). Godin’s criticism of Gerber’s philosophy about business: developing a cut and paste type of business that can be replicated fast without the care for developing and cultivating talent in the form of linchpins is that other companies will be able to copy you. If your goal is to come up with a system that just gets to the point without artful human interaction just so you can hire cheap people, then you are really racing to the bottom because you will have to keep lowering prices to compete (11). He goes on to state that “Indispensable businesses race to the top instead” (11). The problem with becoming cheaper is that people are fickle with cheap. Consumers will throw away and replace cheap. They desire products made artfully. Products that have the signature of a human heart (12).
          Godin draws upon other books, such as The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (107) which leads to one of the most fascinating parts of this book: The idea about the “Lizard brain,” also known as “The Resistance,” which has control over most people because it resides in the older, stronger part of the brain, the basal ganglia, that is responsible for survival and, as Godin states, “the reason you’re afraid, the reason you don’t do all the art you can…” (109) and the “Daemon,” also known as “The Genius,” which resides in your neocortex, the newer, not as strong part of your brain (108) that is dying to express itself through art (106). It’s very eye opening to see the psychology that holds most people back. I found the mentioning of so many different sources of information, from books to TED Talks, to be a great bonus.  
          Godin discusses many things that I found very insightful such as concepts called “Shipping” (102) and “Thrashing” (103). In fact, these two concepts helped me finish and “ship” this book review blog, along with my other artistic endeavor, Derek Sav Music. I have just completed my first musical piece in many years, thanks to these concepts I discovered in this book!  
          Although I’m still unsure of whether or not I agree with Godin’s criticism of Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited, a book that I haven’t yet read, but plan to and have watched Youtube discussions about it, I think this book shed light on a very positive, enriching philosophy that anybody can incorporate into their lives now. Your current job is a great place to start becoming a Linchpin. Every time you interact with someone, whether it is a coworker or customer is a chance to hone your skills in the art of interaction (57). This is another piece of advice that I’ve started using at my day job. This book has changed my life for the better and I highly recommend it.

Works Cited

​Godin, Seth. Linchpin. Penguin Group, 2010.