Initial thoughts on Linchpin by Seth Godin

According to my Kindle, I am 32% through Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin. I think I like it now. I didn’t like it at first. The title grated against my understanding of humility and servant-leadership. The opening sections did nothing to change my perception.

But people I respect spoke highly of the book (such as Michael Hyatt here and here, especially since his company did not publish the book). Jay Lorenzen (onMovements) is reading it so I look forward to his thoughts.

It is growing on me. I’m intrigued by the concept of emotional labor. Some statements from Godin’s book:

• Emotional labor is the hard work of making art, producing generosity, and exposing creativity.
• Every interaction you have with a coworker or customer is an opportunity to practice the art of interaction [emotional labor].
• One of the most difficult types of emotional labor is staring into the abyss of choice and picking a path. [This is especially meaningful to me as a leader where I regularly stare into the abyss of choice and am responsible for leading us in a path towards our mission.]
• Emotional labor is available to all of us, but is rarely exploited as a competitive advantage. We spend our time and energy trying to perfect our craft, but we don’t focus on the skills and interactions that will allow us to stand out and become indispensable to our organization.

Then I thought about my partners in ministry — those who engage in the mission with Kay and me through faithful prayer, funding, and encouragement. Am I indispensable to them? Am I producing generously and creatively with them? Am I practicing effective emotional labor from their perspective?

I’m still working through thoughts. What about you? If you’ve read Linchpin and have thoughts, write them in the comments.