How will you benefit from reading this summary?
How would you feel if you were laid off one day? That's because the company found someone who can do the same job for less money. How would you respond? Your goal should be to become indispensable. This book will teach you how to become a valuable employee in your company, someone who cannot be replaced easily.
Who will learn from this summary?
Employees at the entry level and mid-level
Employees who need motivation at work
A little about the author
In addition to being an author, blogger, trainer, and entrepreneur, Seth Godin is a best-selling author. Formerly, he worked in the book packaging and dot-com industries. Currently, he has written 19 business books. Additionally, Seth offers marketing workshops and online courses. Through his blogs, he continues to educate people.
Introduction
My friends and I know a lot of people who are forced to be something that they're not. A world that doesn't appreciate their creativity forces them to hide it. That's no longer the case. People were asked to fit into a mold and be exactly like others for so long.
It worked for almost a century. Being the same as other people won't help you today. In fact, it won't help you at all.
Imagine going to your daily job, one you've been doing for almost 15 years. Your boss knocks on your door and tells you they're terminating you. A cheaper replacement was found. How would you respond? It's hard to say how you would react.
If you read this summary, you won't have to find out. As opposed to being a cog in a machine that can be easily replaced, you will learn how to become indispensable.
It's a new world of work
Consider the employer's perspective. If you could hire ten barely trained bag designers who could do the job faster and make more products in the same amount of time, why would you hire a professional bag designer?
The world has been this way for 300 years, and employers couldn't be happier. The new world of work doesn't work that way. Every morning, Hector awoke at 6 am and went to the corner of his street to wait. Construction worker Hector worked in construction.
With six other competitors, he waited every day for a truck to pass by and pick him up. When the truck finally arrived, the driver rolled down his window and picked up three people. It didn't matter which one he picked, he just picked the cheapest one.
Hector is who you are, whether you like it or not. When you want to work for a company, you send your CV. Hundreds of CVs lie on a desk, hoping to get picked. There is a good chance that you won't be chosen. How come? You're the same as everyone else.
According to the Law of the Mechanical Turk, any project can be done almost for free if it is broken down into little, predictable pieces. Check out CastingWords.com to see how. A website that converts voice recordings or interviews into written text.
What is the purpose of this website? The voice recording is broken down into several small pieces, which are then divided among several employees. To produce the final product, each employee would transcribe his part.
What is the salary of those people at Casting Words? For every minute transcribed, they pay 19 cents. For every minute transcribed, the average professional charges two dollars. The law of the Mechanical Turk turns out to be much cheaper.
Instead of paying 80 dollars per project, the client only pays 15 dollars. The majority of bosses want you to become the next Mechanical Turk. Do you want that? People who are just cogs in a machine are no longer compensated in the new world. How can this problem be solved? It's time for you to become a Linchpin.
An artist is a linchpin. Most importantly, they are indispensable. James owned a factory that produced clothes for a reasonable price. After interviewing his workers, he realized he had three options. A perfect worker would earn him 30 dollars an hour, a good worker would earn him 25 dollars an hour, or an average worker would earn him 20 dollars an hour.
He won't know who's a perfect worker and who's mediocre until he hires them. Everyone must be paid a set price at the beginning. What do you think James will pay them? An hourly wage of less than 20 dollars.
To compensate for the least amount of profit, James paid all workers the same amount. It was unfair to pay the perfect workers less than they deserved. There will come a time when those perfect workers will quit. The perfect workers get screwed by being a simple cog in a huge machine.
In our careers, we are often known for what we do rather than who we are. You need to be different if you want to be indispensable. Customers and employers care about value and emotions. To stand out from the millions of other employees around you, you have to be different.
You Should Think About Your Choice
One question to ask yourself. Is it possible to be indispensable? There is no doubt that you can do it. Many people are already doing it.
They were not born with something that made them indispensable, but they worked hard to earn it. In a world where people are disposable, they worked hard to become indispensable.
Two options are available. You can either become someone who believes someone else must lose in order to succeed in life. The second option is to always think of a win-win situation.
Programmers Guild leader Kim Berry pushed Congress to limit the number of H-1B visas granted to foreign programmers.
Life was a win-lose situation for Kim. Whenever a foreigner works as a programmer in the US, an American loses the chance to become one.
Isn't life a win-win situation? What if we thought of the market as unlimited and expandable? It makes sense to think that talented foreigners working as developers opens up more opportunities for locals?
Those who achieve success might seem to have something extra, something you lack. It's not true. The adoption of Steve Jobs took place. From a prison, Nelson Mandela changed the world. Many people have succeeded despite having far fewer opportunities than you do.
Working hard, doing what you're asked to, and getting rewarded used to be the American dream. Creating value, being passionate, and being different is the new American dream.
Become a Linchpin. You'll be rewarded if you become someone companies can't easily replace. As a Linchpin, you become more passionate about your job because you are more connected to your customers.
Hire Linchpins as an employer. Who do you think will make you more money? Does it mean that a person does exactly what he's told without thinking? Is it a person who creates art, a person who is passionate about his job, a person who creates products that emotionally connect with the customer?
Your business also becomes a Linchpin when you hire Linchpins. It becomes unique, and it connects with people on a much larger scale than you had anticipated.
As a result of their love for what they do, Linchpin employees create value and produce more than they are paid for. They are free spirits who accept nothing less than perfection. To become a Linchpin, you need Linchpins.
Being the linchpin
Every organization needs linchpins. Without them, the organization would fall apart. When you create more value in a job, you work fewer hours. The law of Linchpin leverage states that.
With just a few minutes, you can do exceptional things. During the rest of the time, you do the same things as everyone else. You can only find creativity and exceptionalism in short bursts, but both will shape your work by making the task much easier and more customer-focused. You will eventually earn more money.
A perfect example of a Linchpin is Marissa Mayer, one of the people who helped shape Google. In her job, Marissa knew exactly how to create value. Through her art, she created a user interface that emotionally connected with customers. Even though Yahoo! and Bing provide almost the same search results, people prefer Google because of her.
Providing optimal search results was important to Marissa, but not the most important. She knew how to connect customer needs with programmers. They eventually created the best user interface in the world.
Let's say you own a restaurant with four waiters. While the first three perform perfectly, the fourth barely gets by. In contrast, the fourth waiter knows how to handle daily problems.
Which employee would you fire if you had to? Solving problems is part of any job and cannot be taught or explained since it comes from experience.
Think of a doctor who listens to his patients and cares for them. A barista who asks a customer about their day or a pilot who calms a child.
Someone's perception of you can be changed by a seemingly insignificant act of kindness. As a result, you can become a linchpin. Stop your show occasionally to listen, care, and show empathy. If you stop the show so you can connect with people emotionally, what will you lose?
The Resistance
What would you feel if you created a masterpiece, an art that had never been seen before? There was something inside you, the resistance, that prevented you from shipping that art. Would you be interested in that? There is nothing. Shipping is just as important as creating.
It's okay if your work suffers during the transition to shipping. Check out Saturday Night Live. The name shipping literally describes what it is. The show airs every Saturday night regardless of whether work has been completed. The show stinks sometimes, but they don't give up.
Their audience will be treated to exceptional material on Saturday. Never stop shipping, no matter what. What makes shipping so challenging? What causes some projects to fail because of shipping problems? Two of the biggest challenges are these two. Thrashing is the first, and coordination is the second. Resistance causes them.
In thrashing, small details are added to a large project. Let's say a company is developing a video game. Increasingly, you will see thrashing as the deadline approaches. Thrashing is not wrong.
Everything has its time and place, however. You will be able to fix your product if you thrash early. Everyone benefits from early thrashing.
Coordination is another challenge. Three handshakes are sufficient to introduce three people. Even with one person added, there are still six handshakes. You now have ten.
Startups succeed more often than larger companies for a reason. Since they have fewer employees, it is easier for them to coordinate.
What is the cause of the resistance? Where does it come from? Basically, the "lizard brain" is responsible for resistance. Your head is filled with fear and hunger. The "lizard brain" is only concerned with surviving. In the end, it does not care if it succeeds or fails. All it needs is to survive.
That's essentially what resistance is. There is a part of your brain that wants you to stay where you are. A demon urges you to move forward. A demon is defined as a genius in Latin. We all have a genius inside us, and that genius is always fighting against resistance. Is it your "lizard brain" or your inner demon that wins?
Is there a way to overcome your “lizard brain?” If so, how do you do it? Simple as that. It is important to note the deadline. Hang it on your wall after writing it on a large piece of paper. No matter if you're done or not, shipping will take place on that day.
Next, write down every idea you have. From postcards to small notes, anything will do. You should then go fishing, get the help you need, and invite others to help you. What are the next steps? The thrashing.
Now is the time to thrash, not when the deadline is approaching. Because the deadline is so far away, your "lizard brain" doesn't feel the need to act. It may be difficult to accomplish as a challenge.
By writing down everything you can think of and asking your colleagues to do the same, you can beat the "lizard brain.". To organize the cards, use FileMaker Pro. Let your colleagues know that this is their last chance to thrash. Even though the deadline is still far away, this is their last chance to come up with ideas.
You should only give your boss the outline. You should take it to the person who decides how the final product should look. Does the boss approve of that outline, and if not, what changes need to be made? Last but not least, ask them this question.
Will they ship what you deliver if you deliver what they ask for? Don't let no get in the way of your goals. Take "We'll decide when we see the final product" with a grain of salt. You need a definite answer as soon as possible. As a final step, build your project thrash-free and deliver it on time. Linchpins do it all the time.
There are seven abilities that make up the Linchpin
The first step is to establish a strong connection within the organization.
Linchpin companies don't want people who are just looking for a job. It is important for people to work for the right reasons. An online shoe retailer like Zappos is a good example.
They offer their employees $ 2,000 if they quit. Zappos does this because they want their employees to enjoy working for them. It is possible for employees who work for money to take the $ 2,000 and quit right away. As a Linchpin, Zappos wants its employees to be creative.
The second step is to deliver a unique creative approach.
Having unique creativity is never enough. You can always do something unique and great that has never been done before. Don't let shipping fall short. Make something unique, creative, and most importantly, ship it.
Managing a complicated situation or organization is the third step.
In the first place, there wouldn't have been a problem if there were a manual for solving problems. Linchpins are essential to any organization for this reason. You need to be able to deal with problems when they arise if you want to be a Linchpin. The manual did not mention these problems.
The fourth step is to lead customers.
Provide your customers with a unique experience by being flexible and emotionally connecting with them. Every person who interacts with customers delivers an experience. The experience must appeal to their emotions.
The fifth step is to inspire your employees.
There is no point in being afraid. You can threaten your employees with termination if they don't become creative. It won't work that way. Showing your staff their true potential will inspire them. It is only you who can convince them that their work makes a difference.
Providing deep domain knowledge is the sixth step.
It is never enough to have a lot of knowledge when trying to become a Linchpin. The internet will always have more knowledge than you do, no matter how much knowledge you have. It is therefore important to combine knowledge with the ability to make wise decisions.
Seventh, possess a unique talent.
Find out what your superpower is. This isn't about following orders and being compliant. It's a skill that makes you hard to replace. You become indispensable because of it.
Again, it's not something you're born with; you have to work at it. We can all achieve this. Linchpins know what their superpower is, and they work on it. Develop the qualities that make you a Linchpin. Ensure that they are developed. Improve them and make them unique.
If my boss won't let me, what should I do?
In this case, there are two situations. In the first case, your boss doesn't allow you to become a Linchpin. You are not allowed to be creative, and he only wants you to follow orders. What makes you stay? In any case, you're not learning anything.
It's clear that you're not growing, and you're definitely not happy. Leave that job! You don't deserve it! You "think" your boss won't let you become a Linchpin in the second situation. It's because you're too scared to try to become one that you haven't actually tried to become one.
Your boss won't cover for you, it's true. When the higher boss asks why they let you do what you did, they must be able to answer. Your boss needs to be sold on your plans. You must have their confidence. What do you do? Develop your skills. Find out more.
Get more experience. There will come a time when you will be competent enough. You will have more control over your time and your tasks. Ask the company what it can do for you, not what it can do for you. Find out what you can do to help the company.
In conclusion
It is essential to become a Linchpin in the new world of work. Cogs who simply follow orders have no place in this world. Become a Linchpin if you want to survive.
You might wake up one day and find that you're being replaced by a cheaper alternative if you're not indispensable. It's impossible to stop your boss from replacing you.
In contrast, if you are a Linchpin, your company values you. Because you're one of the few people who actually hold the company together, you're hard to replace.
We all have a "lizard brain" and a demon within us. It is the "lizard brain" that wants to survive. It doesn't care if you succeed or not. You have to overcome your lizard brain's fear when you take risks.
Meanwhile, the demon inside us wants us to thrive. We are driven by our inner genius to take risks and become indispensable. Decide who will win the fight. Your lizard brain or your demon? The Linchpin also has seven abilities.
First of all, do not work solely for money. The second step is to deliver creativity. Third, learn how to deal with difficult situations. The fourth step is to connect with your customers. You can make a difference through your job if you see how it makes a difference. The sixth step is to make smart decisions. The seventh step is to develop your unique skill set.
You won't gain your company's confidence overnight. You need to earn your boss' trust, and he has good reasons for not taking risks. It is important for you to prove yourself first. Ask the company what it can do for you, not what it can do for you. Find out what you can do to help the company. You become a Linchpin that way.