Seth Godin’s Linchpin – Book Review on the Powerful Culture of Gifting

When Seth Godin talks, I listen. His no-nonsense and thought-provoking insights into marketing are changing the business. So you can imagine when you are given the opportunity to do an early review of his book. Linchpin: Are you indispensable? I said “yes” immediately.

Like his other works, Axis does not disappoint. There are so many nuggets of wisdom in some 230 pages that I could write several reviews, each focusing on a different concept.

What is different about this book from Godin’s previous works is that it focuses on you, the individual. It is not your company. Not your products. It’s not the way you do business. But there is no question that it will affect your company, your products, and the way you do business. The premise is that the more unique, the more connected, the more generous you are, the more influence and success you can enjoy.

Almost counterintuitively, Godin suggests that the more you give away your “art” (be it advice, music, insight, or literally art) for free, the more likely your boss, clients, and followers are to stay loyal. . . In fact, the “Givers Gain” message was so ingrained in the book that I thought I was at a BNI (Business Network International) meeting or reading Bob Burg’s book. The Go-Giver. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. there isn’t. And I’ve seen this principle work for me on so many occasions that I can vouch for its usefulness.

In Godin’s discussion of The powerful culture of gifts, points out that there are three ways people think about gifts: 1) “Give me a gift.” 2) “Here’s a gift. Now you owe me a lot.” 3) “Here’s a present, I love you.” I think it’s very easy for people to fall into the second mindset when reading about the gift economy. We see this all the time with “free seminars” or “free networks” which are nothing more than sales promotion events. This is NOT giving away your art.

So how can you make a living giving away art for free? That’s where Gift System Circles come in. Godin’s theory says that in the First Circle of true gifts you give your art to family, friends, co-workers, those you are close to. The Second Circle is the circle of commerce made up of those who pay for your art, your clients. And now, with the rise of the Internet, a great Third Circle has emerged, which is that of his followers and fans, “friends”, who can become friends. This Third Circle helps expand the circle of commerce as well as influence and improve the lives of even more people.

I am just beginning to tap into this Third Circle world and it is truly an amazing new frontier. In less than a year, I’ve made dozens of new friends (especially my “twibe” from Twitter) and gained so many new resources that I can’t even imagine my future without them.

After reading Linchpin, you understand why Godin gave us senior reviewers the opportunity to read and comment on the book. He was showing what it really means to be a key player.