A lot of people have had a lot of nice things to say about Seth Godin’s new book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable,” and I hope to blog on the book soon.
But take a look to the left at the Table of Contents for the book — it offers chapter summaries instead of page numbers. What a very cool way to summarize the book and help (1) new readers navigate the book and (2) returning readers find the specific chapters they’re looking for.
An example…In most books, you’d see that the fifth chapter is Becoming the Linchpin. In this book, Seth gets your attention by adding, The linchpin is an individual who can walk into chaos and create order, someone who can invent, connect, create, and make things happen. Every worthwhile institution institution has indispensable people who make differences like this. Over at Chapter 9, in addition to There Is No Map, you get Indispensable linchpins are not waiting for instructions, but instead, figuring out what to do next. If you have a job where someone tells you what to do next, you’ve just given up the chance to create value.”
The inside cover goes further with the definition of a linchpin: They “invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there’s no rule book. they delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.”
Can you imagine anything better than to be described as a linchpin by those who know or work with you? Paging through it, this looks like a terrific book, starting with the Table of Contents. It’s the next book I’ll be reading (after finishing Switch by the Heath Brothers, which will be officially released early next week).