Linchpinism

 

           “Linchpin” is a professional development text written by Seth Godin and published in 2010 by Penguin Group. Godin is a best-selling author, but he can also be described as an entrepreneur, public speaker, and marketing guru. In this text, he sets out to teach readers about what he feels workers must become in the modern world: linchpins. The alternative to the linchpin is the cog, and readers are instructed to avoid being a cog at all costs. Stories of successful, ingenious go-getters are sprinkled throughout; Godin tells us anecdote after anecdote of these linchpins—from Darienne Page, receptionist to Barack Obama's White House, to Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson. What qualities do these people share, making them linchpins? In one way or another, their services are indispensable.

            The text is broken down into an introduction, twelve chapters, and a summary. Each chapter is broken down into numerous subheadings, rarely more than a page long (about twenty-five per chapter), relating to the topic at hand. There are also several hand-drawn diagrams referred to in the text (e.g. a Venn diagram where the linchpin is found at the center of charm, talent and perseverance on page 43). Godin's tone is persuasive if not overbearing—certain terms and concepts are repeated over and over (e.g. linchpin, cog, shipping, make art, etc.). He employs a sort of no-nonsense, tough love approach to offer a wake-up call to those readers who have not yet seen the tell-tale signs of a changing world for themselves. Also, interestingly enough, Godin seems to set out to squash gender stereotypes in his writing. Instead of using “one,” “he,” or even “he or she” when referring to the subject of potential situations described, he almost exclusively uses the pronoun “she.”

            According to the Miriam-Webster dictionary, a linchpin is literally a locking pin inserted crosswise as through the end of the axle or shaft, and figuratively a person that serves to hold together parts or elements that exist or function as a unit. A cog, in contrast, is defined as a tooth on the rim of a wheel or gear and metaphorically as a subordinate but integral person or part. Godin sets out to translate these metaphors to the tenor of the American worker.

            For the last two hundred years, it was okay to be a cog. In fact, it was the American Dream to strive to be a brainless cog as a means to a nice house and a comfortable retirement. Godin goes so far as to say that certain elements of our society (namely the education system) were deliberately constructed to churn out this cog-type worker: “it's about overcoming a multigenerational conspiracy designed to sap your creativity and restlessness (2).”  Godin offers a long list of what modern schools are “teaching kids to do (with various levels of success).” On this list are things such as fit in, follow instructions, don't challenge authority, do the minimum amount required, be a generalist, and move on once you learn a topic. We are, in short, breeding mediocrity. Achieving average scores, in American schools (with already low standards), is a feat worthy of praise. Godin counters, saying that in order to address the needs of our society, we should actually only be teaching two things in our schools: to solve interesting problems, and to lead (45-47).

             In the current economic climate, factory jobs that have historically provided secure employment to innumerable cogs are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. Godin extends the definition of a factory outside of the conventional sense, to any organization “that has it figured out, a place where people go to do what they're told and earn a paycheck (40).” He gives examples of failed factories, such as print newspapers too busy following established industry protocol to see that radical adaptation is a must for survival. In order to achieve job security and be considered generally employable now, Godin ventures, the linchpins are the ones with the competitive edge. Godin systematically and almost redundantly emphasizes this point (“there are no longer any great jobs where someone else tells you precisely what to do [14].”), describing just how and why this dichotomy and shift occurred.

            Once Godin has established why the American Dream was the way it was, as well as how and why it is no longer viable, he spends the remainder of the text detailing elements of what he sees as the next necessary step: becoming the linchpin. He explains the exact characteristics of a linchpin: linchpins make art by giving gifts of emotional labor, and a great deal of time is spent on the topic of art. An artist is defined as a person “with a genius for finding a new answer, a new connection, or a new way of getting things done (8).”

             There are several elements of being a linchpin as defined by Godin that are personally intriguing to me. For one, he encourages that the purpose of starting is to finish, and regardless of relative readiness, one should “ship” on the ship date (103). Now, this concept makes me slightly uncomfortable, as my perfectionist self often has a hard time producing any kind of sub-par work. I can see the value in Godin's shipping policy though, because my ego nags me more often than I'd like to admit and as a result, in the absence of 100% quality work, too often 0% quality work gets shipped (aka nothing). To accomplish this shipping goal, another novel idea: do all editing at the beginning of a project. Later in the text, Godin adds another layer to this concept when he says that “we shouldn't bother doing it if all we're going to do is do it (197).” Put your all into everything you do, he seems to be saying, and when it still isn't good enough on ship day, get it out anyway.

            At the core, Godin teaches universal life lessons about passion—on page 190 he talks about how opportunities come after you're inspired and not vice versa. He's driving home an age-old adage: do what you love and you'll be happy (because you'll be doing art), but with a caveat—if you don't, you won't have job security anymore. However, it is difficult to conceptualize how realistic the linchpin business model is for a universal audience. It depends upon an us vs. them mentality—Godin isn't speaking to everyone. On page 202, he lists the linchpin's only, two, “elegant” options:

 

1.      Hire plenty of factory workers. Scale like crazy. Take advantage of the fact that most people want a map, most people are willing to work cheaply, most people want to be the factory. You win because you extract the value of their labor, the labor they're surrendering too cheaply.

2.      Find a boss who can't live without a linchpin. Find a boss who adequately values your scarcity and your contribution, who will reward you with freedom and respect. Do the work. Make a difference.

 

This brings up the ethics of being a linchpin. Unless you want to be managed, the act of being a linchpin is inherently dependent upon the continued exploitation of cogs. Throughout the text, over and over, we are told in various ways, “let someone else do cog job x—you're a linchpin.” So the logic is slightly flawed—Godin's premise rides on the fact that anyone can pick up this book and learn the tools of linchpinism. He convinces us that this is a necessary avenue to any kind of real or lasting future success. We are reassured and convinced that we are all capable of making art and becoming linchpins, but it is understood that not everyone will. It's like an exclusive club, and only suckers are cogs—but they are still necessary in society. And often a linchpin's success depends upon those cogs.

            All in all I did like the book, in that it uniquely underlines what is essential to living a fulfilled life—finding passion, love, and true enjoyment in what you do. In a way, readers are presented with a wonderful opportunity: as the security of the cog-til-retirement career path becomes less and less of a realistic option, we have no choice but to find this fulfillment  The problem, it would then seem, lies in the interim period. As it stands now, our schools are still effectively punishing artists and rewarding bureaucrats. If we were properly encouraging creativity in schools, we would be effectively nourishing individuals in tune with their passions and aware of what kind of art they excel at; we would be growing people capable of drawing their personal map to becoming a linchpin.

~ Amanda Pratt~