Old Rule vs New Truth

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Seth Godin has just published his latest book, The Icarus Deception.

It is a challenging read for all of us who are finding that keeping our heads down, staying under the radar, and blindly complying are no longer even “safe behaviors” in today’s economy.

For those of us who heed the old rule to not fly too close to the sun.

Are you following (or even worse enforcing) the old rules in your shop?

Playing it safe
Better safe than sorry
Stick to the plan
Blend in

Seth shows the new truths we need to master today. It is better to:

Be sorry than safe
Perform rather than fit in
Fly higher than to stay in our comfort zone

Many readers will find a disconnect because they don’t think of themselves as ‘Artists.’ And because Seth says that industrialism is dead- and we make our living in manufacturing.

But as craftsmen, we embody the attitude of the Artist in our work every day:

The vision of what is needed to be done
The knowledge of how to do it
The ability to make it so

More importantly, we have the courage to do our thing.

Read this book. Empower yourself.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Maybe Next Year

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seth godin terrier — The terrier can ship, why not you?

Guest post by Seth Godin

Maybe next year…

The economy will be going gangbusters
Your knowledge will reach critical mass
Your boss will give you the go ahead (and agree to take the heat if things don’t work out)
Your family situation will be stable
The competition will stop innovating
Someone else will drive the carpool, freeing up a few hours a week
There won’t be any computer viruses to deal with, and
Your neighbor will return the lawnmower.
Then…
You can ship, you can launch your project, you can make the impact you’ve been planning on.
Of course, all of these things won’t happen. Why not ship anyway?
[While others were hiding last year, new products were launched, new subscriptions were sold and new companies came into being. While they were laying low, websites got new traffic, organizations grew, and contracts were signed. While they were stuck, money was being lent, star employees were hired and trust was built.
Most of all, art got created.
That’s okay, though, because it’s all going to happen again in 2011. It’s not too late, just later than it was.]
Originally posted here.
Photo credit.

The Only Must Read Book For You (And Your Organization) This Year

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These past two years have taught us all some valuable lessons. But, we haven’t yet recognized the change that these lessons have brought with them. I found a brilliant description of the change and the lessons laid out in a book. The book is titled Linchpin, written by Seth Godin.

Linchpin Book — The only MUST READ book for you this year!

Here are three lessons about our new world of work:
Lesson 1: There are fewer and fewer jobs where you can get paid merely for showing up. (Page 23) Instead progressive shops are looking for people who make a difference and they are shedding everyone else.
Lesson 2: If you want a job where you get to do more than follow instructions, don’t be surprised if you get asked to do things they never taught you to do in school.(Page 30) No one today is looking for people who need to be told what to do. Shops that are busy today are desperate to find talented, courageous, competent people who know what to do.
Lesson 3: For nearly three hundred years…factory owners wanted compliant, low paid replaceable workers to run their machines. (Page 7) We just lived through the last two years of management in our precision machining shops doing everything they could to keep their most talented, dare I say it, most indispensable people on the payroll.
We have come through an incredible change in business and manufacturing in the past two years. The days of business success being assured by having a high Percentage of Easily Replaced Laborers (PERL) is over. (Page 10) Low cost labor in Asia and former Eastern Bloc countries win that game hands down. The system of show up, do what they tell you, work hard, keep your head down, fit in, try to be average, stick it out, be part of the system, died an ugly death over these past two years. (By the way, it didn’t work so well in junior high either.)
THE SYSTEM HAS CHANGED. You know it as an employee. You know it as an employer. This book explains the change. And how you (and your organization) can thrive in this new reality.
This is not just a book for managers. This is not just a book for employees. This is not just a book for people who want the latest thinking. This book will give you, no matter who you are or what you do, tools you can use to make sense of today’s new world of work, and your essential part in it.

double-loop-hair-pin-cotter — Without you...

You have brilliance in you. Your contribution is valuable. What you create is precious. (In our industry, often it saves lives!) Only you can do what you do. Bring your best with you to work. We’re counting on you! (Page 3)