Book Review:

Critics say this is Seth Godin’s most passionate book. First, he tells you, “There are no longer any great jobs where someone else tells you precisely what to do.”

In his new book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, he tells how to free your people so they can become artists, which means creators of unique, compelling and substantial value.

If you can do it, “they will rise to a level you can’t even imagine. When people realize that they are not a cog in a machine, an easily replaceable commodity, they take the challenge and grow. They produce more than you pay them to, because you are paying them with something worth more than money …” People crave connection and respect.

As an individual, “You can’t become a linchpin merely because you are different. But the only way to become indispensable is to be different,” says Godin. “That’s because if you’re the same, so are plenty of other people.”

One reviewer says the chapter titled “The Resistance” is worth the price of the book. Readers are faced with all the reasons they are not as indispensable as they could and should be.

Linchpin is a most unusual, well-organized and concise book about becoming indispensable, whether you work for someone else at any level or are self-employed. But Godin’s principles can be applied to other aspects of life. Linchpins can be better spouses, friends and community members. They can be indispensable in many ways.

Godin says that if you want customers to flock to you, it’s tempting to race to the bottom of the price chart. There’s plenty of room there, but the only way to win is to race to the top. When you are more human, remarkable, faster, and connect with customers, you will win.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin, Portfolio, 256 pages, 2010.