Are you worried that you are easily replaceable? In the age of artificial intelligence, almost every job holder is susceptible to replacement by a machine. Seth Godin shows how to stop being average and embark on a journey to be indispensable.

1. Linchpin
HOW TO DRIVE YOUR CAREER AND
CREATE A REMARKABLE FUTURE

2. Disclaimer
This is a summary of a book. Being condensed, it may only partially reflect the original intent and
idea of the author of the book.
To make this summary easier to understand, some outside material that is not part of the
original book was added.
Rights to text, pictures, graphs, slide layout, slide design, slide graphics, etc contained herein,
belong to their creators. I do not claim ownership of any of them.
For personal use only. Redistribution of this document in any form for commercial purposes may
infringe copyright laws.
It is best to use this summary alongside the original book.

3. Seth Godin
• Entrepreneur
• Founder of Squidoo and Yoyodyne
• Writer on Marketing
• Author of 18 Books
• The Dip
• We Are All Weird
• Purple Cow
• Tribes
• Founder of AltMBA
• Founder of The Marketing Seminar
• Marketing Hall of Fame 2018 Inducteekaneconsulting.biz

4. In 1776 Adam Smith published
“The Wealth of Nations” that
introduced the concept of
“Division of Labor”

5. Division of Labor
… the separation of a work process
into a number of tasks, with each task
performed by a separate person or
group of persons…
- Encyclopædia Britannica

6. Businesses
make profits by
hiring cheap
labor to do
small, copiable
tasks
socio-political-journal.com

7. People often allow
themselves to be average,
another cog in the machine
that is easily replaceable

8. Why people
choose to
be average?
1. They have been brainwashed by
the school and the system to
believe that their job is to do their
job and follow instructions.
2. They listen to the voice of
resistance inside them. It is safer to
be average and be taken-cared of
by corporations.

9. The risk of
just
following
instructions job
description
automation
DOOM

10. The risk of playing the game
of hiring the cheapest to
gain profits
China’s share of the world products:
- 70% of market for DVD and toys
- 50% of market for bikes, cameras,
shoes and telephones
- Over 30% of market for AC, TV,
computer monitors, luggage &
microwave oven
Peter Navarro, The Economics of the ‘China Price’,
China Perspective
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

11. When you play commodity game,
there will always be someone who
can undercut your price by hiring
even cheaper labor.

12. Both businesses and
individual workers win by
developing indispensability.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

13. a linchpin
wikipedia.org

14. Linchpin (noun)
1. a pin passed through the end of an axle to keep a wheel
in position.
2. a person or thing vital to an enterprise or organization.

15. Can you do
like Richard
Branson?
Sir Richard sees
opportunities. One day
his flight to Virgin
Islands was cancelled.
Instead of complaining,
he chartered an
airplane, sold seats to
his fellow stranded
passengers to cover the
cost, and made it home
in time. From that
experience he built
Virgin Airlines.
thegroomedmanco.com

16. Can you do
like Marissa
Mayer?
During her time at
Google, she created
billions of dollars’ worth
of value. Instead of
cluttering the page with
ads, she insisted on a
clean search page and
made ads part of search
results. Ads became
relevant to users and
more enticing to click.
That brought in more
dollars to Google.
wikipedia.org

17. Becoming a
Linchpin

18. What Linchpins Do
EXERT EMOTIONAL
LABOR
MAKE A MAP

19. Seven Abilities of a Linchpin
Provide a unique
interface
between
members
Deliver unique
creativity
Manage a
situation or
organization of
great complexity
Lead customers Inspire staff
Provide deep
domain
knowledge
Possess unique
talent

20. Provide a unique
interface between
members

21. Darienne
Page
As a receptionist, she
provided unique
interface between
President Obama and
his guests by finding
information about
them before a
meeting and
conversing with them
on the subjects.

22. Deliver unique
creativity
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

23. Slash
He is lead guitarist of
the rock band Guns-N-
Roses. He came up with
original guitar riff for
“Sweet Child o’ Mine”
after trying several
different versions.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

24. Manage a situation or
organization of great
complexity

25. Godin’s
Summer
Camp Staff
Although he had 90
staff, Godin only trusted
12 of them to handle
“travel days”. Those
staff had the ability to
manage complex
situations and make
decisions on the spot
on his behalf.
legalzoom.com

26. Lead Customers

27. Chick-Fil-A
Restaurant
Crew
In QSR reports, Chick-
Fil-A is in the top spots
of fast food restaurants
in revenue per store
and politeness. Their
positive attitude leads
customers to keep
coming back and buy
more.
lasentinel.net

28. Inspire Staff

29. Ritz-Carlton
Dubai Staff
Ritz-Carlton Hotels are
famous for the great
trust they place on every
staff to take action.
Overhearing a
wheelchair-bound guest
wish to be able to cross
the 200-meter sand
beach to the sea,
engineering staff of the
Ritz-Carlton Dubai took
the initiative to build a
walkway, allowing the
guest to swim in the sea.
ritzcartlon.com

30. Provide deep
domain knowledge

31. Lester
Wunderman
He was one of the
creators of Amex Card.
Joining Godin’s internet
company, not only
Wunderman brought
his vast marketing
experience, but also
deep knowledge about
who’s who in the
industry.
mumbrella.asia

32. Possess unique
talent

33. Justice
League of
America
Together, they are
formidable force
against evil. Even so,
individual hero’s
superpower is unique.
Each one of them know
what they can do best,
making everyone a
valuable team member.
denofgeeks.com

34. In a Nutshell
Know who you are and your unique abilities
Pour passion into what you do
Be ready to make decisions in face of fear
When there is no map – make your own map
Give freely

35. Book summary by
Stephen Siregar
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-
SA-NC