First, watch this video from Thomas Friedman. Mr. Zutz actually shared this video with our staff this morning. As you watch "Average is Over," which is an excerpt from Friedman's book That Used to Be Us (we read two chapters from it last year).
This short clip illustrates why it's vital for you to evolve into a Linchpin. Compare what Friedman says in this short talk to Godin's core thesis of becoming a Linchpin.
Second, watch this video from Thomas Friedman later in the same talk. How do his four pieces of advice for his daughters - and you - correlate to Godin's work (either The Dip or Linchpin)?
In the first video he explains that it is the best time to be #1 in what you do, and there is no time to settle for anything less than that because average is over. If you want to be a linchpin, you most likely want to be #1, and to reach that goal you can not be average. If you do not improve your skills and work harder than ever at your job, you will be less successful than ever.
ReplyDeleteThe little extra that the waitress coincides with Godin's idea of an artist and a linchpin. She doesn't have the highest ranking job in the world, but she has a little extra that would make her irreplaceable to customers. She didn't control much, but what she did control, she made her extra. That's what makes her a linchpin. Be an artisan. That fits into the artistry bit in Godin's book. Artisans made things handcrafted by them. It was special, not manufactured thousands of times by a machine. The hard work and passion they put into it made them an artist. Immigrants start over when they get here. Their options are endless, and they hunger and strive to find their way. To be a linchpin you have to stay hungry and strive for more.
ReplyDeleteIt's exciting to know that there is never a better time to be a consumer. Which is true, but I think that it will keep getting better. I love it when he says "The world doesn't care about what you know, they only care about what you do with what you know". This is spot on, it doesn't matter how much material you've memorized out of a textbook or something, because if you don't have people skills or outside the box thinking, then you will never accomplish anything. You will just be stuck with a bunch of useless knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a good topic for your final Linchpin project/presentation: what skills do you need to really succeed? Check out what Wagner has to say in the newest blog entry and the seven skills necessary to succeed in the connected world.
DeleteIn the first video Friedman asserts that you need to be the best in the world. Godin also believes in this. They both push to make your self the best at what you do. I don't necessarily agree that there are no MDC's and LDC's. That issue can't simply be solved with creativity. In the second video Friedman says think like an immigrant. Stay hungry and throw yourself into your opportunities so that they aren't taken away. This idea reminds me of the linchpin who works to be irreplaceable.
ReplyDeleteI agree that creativity isn't enough all by itself. So what else can you combine with creativity to ensure a job for yourself. Or to - as the President of Duke, Richard Broadhead, says: how can you "future-proof" yourself? This could be a great topic to explore in your final Linchpin presentation.
DeleteIf you're content with being average, you will be easily replaced. In today's world, everything is just a click away. If you're not willing to do more and be different, your boss can easily find someone else to replace you. Linchpins can't be replaced with the click of a mouse though. They do something that sets them apart and makes them unique in a way that their boss will do anything to keep them. Godin and Friedman are basically saying that if you're content with being average, you better be content with being replaced.
ReplyDeleteIn the first video, Tom Friedman shares his views on being an entrepreneur and also on being average. He talks about how there is only one out of the two that will make it in our world today, and as Godin also says, it is being an entrepreneur. Being average in our country, or even our world today, is not going to make it. You must set yourself apart from others and show how you can make a difference in order to really get somewhere. Friedman and Godin had very similar views and what they both see as necessary to make it in society today, it to be an entrepreneur.
ReplyDelete1.Friedman says you have to be #1 now, and that's similar to what Godin says in that you have to be the best in your own world. To be the best you have to be passionate.
ReplyDelete2. Along with that, in the second video, Friedman explains how the immigrant is optimistic and always going above and beyond in order to keep his or her job. Godin says something very similar to this. He mentions how people have to be linchpins by going over the top and be special in order to be indispensable and safe.
In Friedman's "Average is Over" speech, he iterates several times that in order to thrive in Today's world, it is increasingly important to set yourself apart from the masses. This is, at it's heart, the same point as Godin makes in Linchpin. You cannot simply be a Cog in the machine, you have to be the Linchpin that holds it all together.
ReplyDeleteIn the video where he lists his advice for his daughters, he continually promotes this level of self-distinguishment by citing examples in which the subjects are advancing themselves by thinking like entrepreneurs and never settling for being average. This links with both The Dip and Linchpin, as it becomes obvious that in order to succeed, you can neither be average, nor settle yourself in a Cul-de-Sac.
Great last line.
DeleteFriedman says that the countries that are going to thrive are the ones that enable a high amount of imagination. Godin would say that these countries would have a lot of linchpins since linchpins are the people who are creative and innovative.
ReplyDeleteBoth Friedman and Godin both believe that you need to set yourself apart. You can't just do what is required of you, because then you will be just like everyone else. Go beyond what you are supposed to do, give someone a little extra fruit, and you will be set apart from those who just do what they are supposed to. You also need to do your own thing. Whatever it is that you're going to do, make it original to you. You're work should be original and reflect you.
In the first video he really pushes being the best in the world in your field; Godin also agrees with this, because in order to be a linchpin you need to be indispensable. If you were number two in your field, then you would be easily dispensable, and you would just be another cog.
ReplyDeleteIn the second video he says that you need to stay hungry. If you want to be indispensable, then you need to keep wanting that next thing to work on. If you aren't jumping at the chances to improve at what you are doing, you aren't going to be a linchpin.
In the first video Friedman says that is the best time to be a consumer, entrepreneur, and the best at whatever you do. Linchpins are the people who are the best at what they do. He also says that average is over and we can not settle for less. If you are not advanced and you are not improving your skills than you will be easily replaced and not considered a linchpin.
ReplyDeleteIn the second video, Friedman says to think like an artisan. To take pride in the work you do and put so much value into it that at the end of the day you boss says they cannot lose you. That is what being a linchpin is about, being irreplaceable. He also says to think like a start-up in Silicon Valley; if you think you are finished then you are finished. But a linchpin will be a work in progress and keep learning to keep themselves indispensable. The last thing he says is to think like a waitress at Perkins; give extra, even when it is not needed or necessary. The waitress is a prime example of what Godin calls an artist.
Nice point about the waitress being an artist.
DeleteI really like how he says you need to do your job everyday as if you wanted to carve your initials into it. If you aren't proud of your job and the work you get done in a day, then you aren't doing your best. If you're not doing your best you might as well quit then, right? In the first video he goes on to explain how it's the best time to be #1 in what you do. If you want to be a linchpin you are going have to be #1. So why not start now?
ReplyDeleteI really like the comment that the world doesn't care what you know. It only cares about what you do with what you know. It's so true. Einstein wouldn't be relevant if he hadn't taken what he knew and changed the world. I also liked the idea of having the mindset of an immigrant. That is the mindset that will raise you up above the competition to #1. Like he said, #1 is the only good place to be. He had a lot of great examples of mindsets to have.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hannah. While I was watching the second video, the part that stuck out the most to me was how he said to take pride and have 'the want' to carve your initials into your work. This is so true because if you are not willing to show the hard work you put in and own up to it, why even do it? If you're going to do something, you might as well do it right the first time. In other words, give it your all and be proud of it.
ReplyDeleteIn the second video, Friedman gives four pieces of advice: think like an immigrant and stay hungry, think like an artisan and take pride, think like a start-up in Silicon Valley, and think like a waitress at Perkins Pancake House in Minneapolis. We need to constantly be hungry, be trying to get better and want more. We should never settle for anything but our best. Otherwise, we won't get out of the Dip. We need to take pride in our work. Why put in the time and effort to do something if you wouldn't put your initials on it at the end? Like Godin says, why waste your time if you're not going to be the best? Think like you're just starting in Silicon Valley; you're constantly a work in progress. You can always continue to get better. Once you think you're finished, you are. You're done. Always strive to improve. Linchpins don't become linchpins by thinking they're the best in the world at what they do. They're driven to become better, because if they aren't, someone else will come along and they'll be the best in the world. Godin and Friedman both agree that to be different, we can't ever stop trying to be the best. Once we do, we cease to be the best. Last of all, control what you can control and do extra. That waitress at Perkins didn't have to give Ken extra fruit. She couldn't give extra pancakes or eggs, but she had the power to give out fruit. That fruit ladle was all hers, and she did her part to make that meal remarkable by giving Ken extra fruit. She didn't have too, but that one little thing is probably what sets her apart from other waitresses at Perkins. That's what Godin means by being unique and being different.
ReplyDeleteIn the first video he talks about how this is a great time to be unique. Its the best time to be at the top of the market. The first place company gets all the spoils, while the second place one suffers. The best get the best, and the average get nothing. He talks about how being average is no longer the least you can do to slide by. Attempting to slide by is not enough anymore, either you are the best or you suffer. You go big or you go home.
ReplyDeleteIn the second video I really enjoyed his four tips. Think like an immigrant is his first one. Immigrants are the most motivated workers out there. They have nothing handed down to them, they have no opportunities, they realize that they have to make their own opportunities. Artisans take pride in what they do. We need to do that too. If you do something, do it well enough that you will be proud of it. Silicon valley start ups are hard. They are constantly tweaking and changing what they do. And finally be the waitress at Perkins. Go the extra distance in what you can control.
You can't be average. You have to stay hungry.You need to strive to be the best in your world. You need to be a linchpin. Getting better and better is staying hungry and being the best in your world
ReplyDeleteIn the first video, Friedman explains that it's a great time to be number one in your field. Then he goes on to say it's not a good time to be number two. This ties in with Godin's linchpin idea. Consumers and bosses and everyone else are looking for the best, not the second best. And they certainly aren't looking for average.
ReplyDeleteIn the second video, his ideas of how to think tie in with the idea of a linchpin as well. He says to think like an artist and make everything original. He says to put your "carving" in everything you do and make it so unique that no one else could recreate it. His ideas also tie in with The Dip because he says that you're never done; you're a work in progress. Godin would agree, because he says we're constantly in dips and life is all about getting over them, finding new ones, and improving.
In the first video explains that this is the best time to be #1. He says, "Average is officially over." He also says that there is never a better time to be a consumer. This has to do with Godin's idea of becoming a linchpin. It's not good to be average, you need to strive to be #1 in whatever you do. Every business wants someone who gives there best and strives to be the best.
ReplyDeleteIn the second video, Friedman says you have to think like an immigrant, think like an artist, think like a start-up in Silicon Valley, and think like a waitress at Perkins Pancake House. He says you have to take pride in what you do. Godin also talks about how it's important to be an artist. Always bring individual extra to work. I think that is what makes someone an artist or linchpin. Like Friedman says, always bring something extra even when it is not needed.
In the second video he describes how we need to always be optimistic, look for the best opportunities, and stay hungry. Never settle for things because they are easy. You will most likely not be successful if you settle. Take pride in your job. Whatever you do, make sure you would want the whole world to know it was you. Whenever you put an end to yourself, you are cutting yourself off. You put a stop to all of the wonderful things that you could do just because you want to be finished. Always give extra in everything you do. It will go farther than you think.
ReplyDeleteToday we have all the knowledge of the world at our fingertips rendering there to be higher competition in the real world after school. Average is over. Imagination will play a big part in the future of all the worlds countries, so we need to be number one and not average as individuals in our now entirely interconnected world. Nowadays you cannot do one thing your whole life, or when the times change as they currently do you will be left behind and will never get anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteThese videos talk about "Leaning in" just like leaning into the dip: these are the points that are are made.
Think like a new immigrant: Push forward and stay Hungry
Think like an artisan: Jump into your work and do THE BEST so you can proudly carve your name into it.
Think like a start up in silicon valley: Don't ever think you are finished or when you do you really are finished.
Think like a waitress in Perkins: Do the most with what you control and you will reap greater rewards.
In times like today we need to think like entrepreneurs and to look for new opportunities all the time.
Video 1: In Friedman's speech, he repeats some of Godin's main points in The Dip. Friedman says average is over and that it is a great time to be #1 in your field. The ideas that Friedman illustrates in this speech are exactly what Godin emphasizes in The Dip. If something is holding you back from being the best at what you do, quit. Average is a waste of time and you are wasting your talents. Also Godin and Friedman both belief it is a great time to be an entrepreneur and that the possibilities for someone who works hard at something they are passionate about are endless.
ReplyDeleteVideo 2: In this speech Friedman makes a reference to being an artisan, which is similar to how Godin defines being an artist in Linchpin. Also Friedman takes about giving a little extra in whatever you do. Godin defines that as being a Linchpin. Do something that above and beyond that makes you indispensable. If you want to be an Linchpin as Godin defines it, or an artisan as Friedman explains you have to do something you passionate about and do your work as if everything you did had your name on it. Your work is your reputation, do something worth putting your name on.
Friedman discusses how it's a great to be number one in the world. Average is over because everyone has access to greater things. You are no longer desired or safe if you're average. Everything has improved and average is no longer average, its less than average. This is an idea that is shared with Godin.
ReplyDeleteIn order to be a linchpin, you have to think like an immigrant, artisan, a start-up, and a waitress. Like and immigrant you need to be hungry for success in order to have the good stuff. Like an artisan you have to take pride in what you are doing. Like a start-up you need to bring something new, your own genius. Like a waitress you have to give your extra. All of these things make a linchpin.
I like how in the first video Friedman says that we have every bit of the world's knowledge available by google, twitter gives a publishing platform, and amazon can publish a book for you. How exciting is this? It makes me realize how lucky we really are in today's world to have all of the oppurtunities we do. He also says its a great time to be #1 in your field, and he makes an excellent point that number one yields the amazing benefits, it's now winner take all; being second is basically like being last. This is just like Godin says, that you must be the best, or you migt as well give up. In the second video, Friedman tells you to think like an immigrant; he says to figure out the best opportunities out there and put your whole heart into it. This reminds me of how Godin says you need to find your passion. He says you need to find what your passionate about and become the best at it, just like Friedman says.
ReplyDeleteIn the first video Friedman talks about how average is over, we have all this knowledge readily available for us if we don't use it then we are not taking advantage of how great we can be. Godin talks about how average is for losers as well. In the second video Friedman talks about how we have to think like an immigrant or waitress. I thought that was interesting because I would of never thought of it that way before, or heard anyone say it like that. As long as we are bringing our extra or bringing something that we are passionate about then we are being what Godin would say a linchpin.
ReplyDeleteIn the first video, Friedman talks about how average is over. If you aren't number one in your field, then you can be easily replaceable, just like Godin talks about how you need to be indispensable as a linchpin. Friedman says at the end, "If all you ever do is all you've ever done, all you'll ever get is not all you ever got. You will get below average and much faster." Godin would also agree with this because he focuses a lot on being an artist in your field. If you go above and beyond what is expected, then you will be much more successful. So if you were average and did the same thing every day, there wouldn't be any improvement. You would be average, but as the average keeps improving you will fall behind average because you aren't going doing above what is expected.
ReplyDeleteIn the second video Friedman brings up being an artisan. Godin also focuses a lot on being an artist at what you do. You don't actually have to be a painter and draw pictures, but make art of what you do. That means to bring passion in what you do and be creative when you do it. Friedman says "do your job everyday as if you wanted to carve your initials into it at the end of the day." If you did your job like so, you would be proud of the work you have put in. If you were average then would you want to put your initials into your work? Probably not because anyone can do that. If your a linchpin, you should be so proud of the extra effort you have put in that you would want to carve your initials into it.
You get what you got when you do what you did.
ReplyDeleteThe challenging part in all of these things that Friedman and Godin talk about is keeping that high level of intensity. That is why it is important to find your passion. If you do, you will be surrounded like others (for me it is you guys!) that push to ideas and things you never thought you could accomplish!
ReplyDelete