Synopses & Reviews
"The only way to get what you're worth is to stand out, to exert emotional labor, to be seen as indispensable, and to produce interactions that organizations and people care deeply about." In bestsellers such as Purple Cow and Tribes, Seth Godin taught readers how to make remarkable products and spread powerful ideas. But this book is different. It's about you - your choices, your future, and your potential to make a huge difference in whatever field you choose.
There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there's a third team, the linchpins. These people invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there's no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.
Linchpins are the essential building blocks of great organizations. Like the small piece of hardware that keeps a wheel from falling off its axle, they may not be famous but they're indispensable. And in today's world, they get the best jobs and the most freedom.
Have you ever found a shortcut that others missed? Seen a new way to resolve a conflict? Made a connection with someone others couldn't reach? Even once? Then you have what it takes to become indispensable, by overcoming the resistance that holds people back. Linchpin will show you how to join the likes of...
*Keith Johnson, who scours flea markets across the country to fill Anthropologie stores with unique pieces.
*Marissa Mayer, who keeps Google focused on the things that really matter.
*Jason Zimdars, a graphic designer who got his dream job at 37signals without a résumé.
*David, who works at Dean and Deluca coffeeshop in New York. He sees every customer interaction as a chance to give a gift and is cherished in return.
As Godin writes, "Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. It's time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must."
Review
"It's easy to see why people pay to hear what he has to say."
-Time
"Thousands of authors write business books every year, but only a handful reach star status and the A-list lecture circuit. Fewer still-one, to be exact-can boast his own action figure. . . . Godin delivers his combination of counterintuitive thinking and a great sense of fun."
-BusinessWeek
"This book is a gift."
-Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder, The Acumen Fund
"If Seth Godin didn't exist we'd need to invent him-that's how indispensable he is! You hold in your hands a compelling, accessible, and purpose-filled book. Read it, and do yourself a big favor. Your future will thank you!"
-Alan Webber, Founder, Fast Company
"This is what the future of work (and the world) looks like. Actually, it's already happening around you."
-Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com
"Thousands of authors write business books every year, but only a handful reach star status and the A-list lecture circuit. Fewer still - one, to be exact - can boast his own action figure....Godin delivers his combination of counterintuitive thinking and a great sense of fun."
-BusinessWeek
Review
Buy this book and use GodinÆs ideas to remake yourself, your product, or your company. Then pass it on to your boss or your employees. Tell them theyÆve just won a free prize. (Jean Briggs,
Forbes)
Godin makes the case for Æsoft innovationÆ as the best way to grow a business, instead of relying on big ads or big innovation. He says that anyone can think up clever, useful, and small ideas to make a product or service remarkable, that is, worth talking about. He calls this kind of innovation a free prize because it generates much more revenue than it costs to implement. (Management Consulting News)
Godin is endlessly curious, opinionated, and knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects. He is a relentless marketer . . . and also a clear-eyed visionary with strong and sensible ideas on how the new economy can, should, and will function. (Richard Pachter, Miami Herald)
Review
“Follow these precepts and you will revolutionize your life. Read this book!”
—Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art and Gates of Fire
“A book for the bedside of every future—and current—leader in the world.”
—Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power and Mastery
“An absolute must-read.”
—Jimmy Soni, managing editor of Huffington Post, author of Romes Last Citizen
“First came Marcus Aurelius, then Frederick the Great . . . and now theres you. This surprising book shows you how to craft a life of wonder by embracing obstacles and challenges.”
—Chris Guillebeau, author of The $100 Startup
“In this tight, engaging book, Ryan Holiday shines a bright, powerful light on the path to living and leading well. Read it, learn from it, and get cracking!”
—Nancy F. Koehn, historian and leadership expert, Harvard Business School
“My life has been beset with obstacles. It takes practice (and pain) to surmount them and achieve success. Ryans book is a how-to guide for just that.”
—James Altucher, investor and author of Choose Yourself
“Ryan Holiday has written a brilliant and engaging book, well beyond his years. . . . It is invaluable.”
—Honorable Frederic Block, Judge, U.S. District Court
Review
“A big and brave kickstart for anyone set to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true.”
—Robin Sharma, #1 bestselling author of The Leader Who Had No Title
“This book is f*cking great! Teaches not only a mindset, but gives people hope, and inspiration, and challenges them at the same time. I love every part of it.”
—Larry Winget, author of Grow a Pair and five other international bestsellers
“This life-changing book is loaded with practical, proven ideas and questions that will help you kick open the door to all the success you want.”
—Brian Tracy, author, The Power of Self-Confidence
Synopsis
In Seth Godin s most inspiring book, he challenges readers to find the courage to treat their work as a form of artEveryone knows that Icarus s father made him wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun; he ignored the warning and plunged to his doom. The lesson: Play it safe. Listen to the experts. It was the perfect propaganda for the industrial economy. What boss wouldn t want employees to believe that obedience and conformity are the keys to success?
But we tend to forget that Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, because seawater would ruin the lift in his wings. Flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high, because it feels deceptively safe.
The safety zone has moved. Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: Make art. Being an artist isn t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It s an attitude we can all adopt. It s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things you re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card.
Godin shows us how it s possible and convinces us why it s essential.
"
Synopsis
As one of today’s most influential business thinkers, Seth Godin helps his army of fans stay focused, stay connected, and stay dissatisfied with the status quo, the ordinary, the boring. His books, blog posts, magazine articles, and speeches have inspired countless entrepreneurs, marketing people, innovators, and managers around the world.
Now, for the first time, Godin has collected the most provocative short pieces from his pioneering blog—ranked #70 by Feedster (out of millions published) in worldwide readership. This book also includes his most popular columns from Fast Company magazine, and several of the short e-books he has written in the last few years.
A sample:
- Bon Jovi And The Pirates
- Christmas Card Spam
- Clinging To Your Job Title?
- How Much Would You Pay to Be on Oprah’s Show?
- The Persistence of Really Bad Ideas
- The Seduction of “Good Enough”
- What Happens When It's All on Tape?
- Would You Buy Life Insurance at a Rock Concert?
Small is the New Big is a huge bowl of inspiration that you can gobble in one sitting or dip into at any time. As Godin writes in his introduction: “I guarantee that you'll find some ideas that don’t work for you. But I’m certain that you're smart enough to see the stuff you’ve always wanted to do, buried deep inside one of these riffs. And I’m betting that once inspired, you’ll actually make something happen.”
Synopsis
A tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. For millions of years, humans have been seeking out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). It's our nature.
Now the Internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger. But more important, they're enabling countless new tribes to be borngroups of ten or ten thousand or ten million who care about their iPhones, or a political campaign, or a new way to fight global warming.
And so the key question: Who is going to lead us?
The Web can do amazing things, but it can't provide leadership. That still has to come from individualspeople just like you who have passion about something. The explosion in tribes means that anyone who wants to make a difference now has the tools at her fingertips.
If you think leadership is for other people, think againleaders come in surprising packages. Consider Joel Spolsky and his international tribe of scary-smart software engineers. Or Gary Vaynerhuck, a wine expert with a devoted following of enthusiasts. Chris Sharma leads a tribe of rock climbers up impossible cliff faces, while Mich Mathews, a VP at Microsoft, runs her internal tribe of marketers from her cube in Seattle. All they have in common is the desire to change things, the ability to connect a tribe, and the willingness to lead.
If you ignore this opportunity, you risk turning into a "sheepwalker"someone who fights to protect the status quo at all costs, never asking if obedience is doing you (or your organization) any good. Sheepwalkers don't do very well these days.
Tribes will make you think (really think) about the opportunities in leading your fellow employees, customers, investors, believers, hobbyists, or readers. . . . It's not easy, but it's easier than you think.
Synopsis
The old saying is wrong—winners do quit, and quitters do win.
Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point—really hard, and not much fun at all.
And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you’re in a Dip—a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.
According to bestselling author Seth Godin, what really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts.
Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt—until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you’ll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.
Losers, on the other hand, fall into two basic traps. Either they fail to stick out the Dip—they get to the moment of truth and then give up—or they never even find the right Dip to conquer.
Whether you’re a graphic designer, a sales rep, an athlete, or an aspiring CEO, this fun little book will help you figure out if you’re in a Dip that’s worthy of your time, effort, and talents. If you are, The Dip will inspire you to hang tough. If not, it will help you find the courage to quit—so you can be number one at something else.
Seth Godin doesn’t claim to have all the answers. But he will teach you how to ask the right questions.
Synopsis
?Gotta get me some of that New Marketing. Bring me blogs, e-mail, YouTube videos, MySpace pages, Google AdWords . . . I don?t care, as long as it?s shiny and new.?
Wait. According to bestselling author Seth Godin, all these tactics are like the toppings at an ice cream parlor. If you start with ice cream, adding cherries and hot fudge and whipped cream will make it taste great. But if you start with a bowl of meatballs . . . yuck!
As traditional marketing fades away, the new tools seem irresistible. But they don?t work as well for boring brands (?meatballs?) that might still be profitable but don?t attract word of mouth, such as Cheerios, Ford trucks, Barbie dolls, or Budweiser. When Anheuser-Busch spends $40 million on an online network called BudTV, that?s a meatball sundae. It leads to no new Bud drinkers, just a bad case of indigestion.
Meatball Sundae is the definitive guide to the fourteen trends no marketer can afford to ignore. It explains what to do about the increasing power of stories, not facts; about shorter and shorter attention spans; and about the new math that says five thousand people who want to hear your message are more valuable than five million who don?t.
The winners aren?t just annoying start-ups run by three teenagers who never had a real job. You?ll also meet older companies that have adapted brilliantly, such as Blendtec, a thirty-year-old blender maker. It now produces ?Will it blend?? videos that demolish golf balls, Coke cans, iPhones, and much more. For a few hundred dollars, Blendtec reached more than ten million eager viewers on YouTube.
Godin doesn?t pretend that it?s easy to get your products, marketing messages, and internal systems in sync. But he?ll convince you that it?s worth the effort.
Synopsis
"This is what the future of work (and the world) looks like. Actually, it's already happening around you." -Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com In bestsellers such as Purple Cow and Tribes, Seth Godin taught readers how to make remarkable products and spread powerful ideas. But this book is about you-your choices, your future, and your potential to make a huge difference in whatever field you choose.
There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there's a third team, the linchpins. These people figure out what to do when there's no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.
Linchpins are the essential building blocks of great organizations. They may not be famous but they're indispensable. And in today's world, they get the best jobs and the most freedom.
As Godin writes, "Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. It's time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must."
Synopsis
How to find the ?soft innovation? that will make your product, service, school, church, or career worth talking about We live in an era of too much noise, too much clutter, too many choices, and too much spam. And as Seth Godin?s 200,000-copy bestseller Purple Cow taught the business world, the old ways of marketing simply don?t work anymore. The best way to sell anything these days is through word of mouth?and the only real way to get word of mouth is to create something remarkable.
Free Prize Inside, the sequel to Purple Cow, explains how to do just that. It?s jammed with practical ideas you can use right now to make your product or service remarkable, so that it will virtually sell itself.
Remember when cereal came with a free prize inside? Even if you already liked the cereal, it was the little plastic toy that made it irresistible. Godin explains how you can think of a bonus that will make your customers feel just as excited, no matter what business you?re in. Consider these free prizes:
??The Tupperware party, which turned buying plastic bowls into a social event
??Flintstones vitamins, which turned a serious product into something fun
??The free change-counting machine at every Commerce Bank branch
??The little blue box from Tiffany, which makes people happy before they even open it
This book offers a way to create free prizes quickly, cheaply, and reliably?and persuade others in your organization to help you bring them to life.
Synopsis
In Seth Godinandrsquo;s most inspiring book, he challenges readers to find the courage to treat their work as a form of artand#160;Everyone knows that Icarusandrsquo;s father made him wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun; he ignored the warning and plunged to his doom. The lesson: Play it safe. Listen to the experts. It was the perfect propaganda for the industrial economy. What boss wouldnandrsquo;t want employees to believe that obedience and conformity are the keys to success?and#160;But we tend to forget that Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, because seawater would ruin the lift in his wings. Flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high, because it feels deceptively safe.and#160;The safety zone has moved. Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: Make art. Being an artist isnandrsquo;t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. Itandrsquo;s an attitude we can all adopt. Itandrsquo;s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things youandrsquo;re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card.and#160;Godin shows us how itandrsquo;s possible and convinces us why itandrsquo;s essential.
Synopsis
In Seth Godinandrsquo;s most inspiring book yet, he challenges readers to find the courage to treat their work as a form of art.and#160;Everyone knows that Icarusandrsquo;s father made him wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun. But he ignored that warning and plunged to his doom. Weandrsquo;ve retold this myth, and many others like it, to generations of kids. All these stories have the same lesson: Play it safe. Obey your parents. Listen to the experts.and#160;It was the perfect propaganda for the industrial economy. What boss wouldnandrsquo;t want employees to believe that obedience and conformity are the keys to success?and#160;But thereandrsquo;s another part of the myth that those in power hope youandrsquo;ll forget. Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, because sea water would ruin the lift in his wings. Flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high, because it feels deceptively safe.and#160;and#160;and#160;The safety zone has moved. The propaganda has been exposed, and the old promises have been broken: Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce, and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: make art.and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;Being an artist isnandrsquo;t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. Itandrsquo;s an attitude we can all adopt. Itandrsquo;s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map.and#160;If you do those things youandrsquo;re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card.and#160; Whether youandrsquo;re a teacher, engineer, doctor, middle manager, or customer service rep, you can fly higher by bringing your best self to work. You can care about what youandrsquo;re doing today and how you can improve tomorrow. Godin shows us how itandrsquo;s possible, and convinces us why itandrsquo;s essential.
Synopsis
What are you afraid of? The old rules: Play it safe. Stay in your comfort zone. Find an institution, a job, a set of rules to stick to. Keep your head down. Don’t fly too close to the sun. The new truth: It’s better to be sorry than safe. You need to fly higher than ever. In his bravest and most challenging book yet, Seth Godin shows how we can thrive in an economy that rewards art, not compliance. He explains why true innovators focus on trust, remarkability, leadership, and stories that spread. And he makes a passionate argument for why you should be treating your work as art. Art is not a gene or a specific talent. It’s an attitude, available to anyone who has a vision that others don’t, and the guts to do something about it. Steve Jobs was an artist. So were Henry Ford and Martin Luther King Jr. To work like an artist means investing in the things that scale: creativity, emotional labor, and grit. The path of the artist isn’t for the faint of heart—but Godin shows why it’s your only chance to stand up, stand out, and make a difference. The time to seize new ground and work without a map is now. So what are you going to do?
Synopsis
What are you afraid of?and#160;The old rules: Play it safe. Stay in your comfort zone. Find an institution, a job, a set of rules to stick to. Keep your head down. Donandrsquo;t fly too close to the sun.and#160;The new truth: Itandrsquo;s better to be sorry than safe. You need to fly higher than ever.and#160;In his bravest and most challenging book yet, Seth Godin shows how we can thrive in an econandshy;omy that rewards art, not compliance. He explains why true innovators focus on trust, remarkabilandshy;ity, leadership, and stories that spread. And he makes a passionate argument for why you should be treating your work as art.and#160;Art is not a gene or a specific talent. Itandrsquo;s an attiandshy;tude, available to anyone who has a vision that others donandrsquo;t, and the guts to do something about it. Steve Jobs was an artist. So were Henry Ford and Martin Luther King Jr.and#160;To work like an artist means investing in the things that scale: creativity, emotional labor, and grit. The path of the artist isnandrsquo;t for the faint of heartandmdash;but Godin shows why itandrsquo;s your only chance to stand up, stand out, and make a difference.and#160;The time to seize new ground and work without a map is now. So what are you going to do?
Synopsis
In Seth Godinandrsquo;s most inspiring book, he challenges readers to find the courage to treat their work as a form of artand#160;Everyone knows that Icarusandrsquo;s father made him wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun; he ignored the warning and plunged to his doom. The lesson: Play it safe. Listen to the experts. It was the perfect propaganda for the industrial economy. What boss wouldnandrsquo;t want employees to believe that obedience and conformity are the keys to success?and#160;But we tend to forget that Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, because seawater would ruin the lift in his wings. Flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high, because it feels deceptively safe.and#160;The safety zone has moved. Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: Make art. Being an artist isnandrsquo;t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. Itandrsquo;s an attitude we can all adopt. Itandrsquo;s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things youandrsquo;re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card.and#160;Godin shows us how itandrsquo;s possible and convinces us why itandrsquo;s essential.
Synopsis
Seth Godins three essential questions for every marketer: Whats your story?”
Will the people who need to hear this story believe it?”
Is it true?”
All marketers tell stories. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche is vastly superior to a $36,000 Volkswagen thats virtually the same car. We believe that $125 sneakers make our feet feel betterand look coolerthan a $25 brand. And believing it makes it true.
As Seth Godin showed in this controversial book, great marketers dont talk about features or even benefits. Instead, they tell a storya story we want to believe, whether its factual or not. In a world where most people have an infinite number of choices and no time to make them, every organization is a marketer, and all marketing is about telling stories.
Marketers succeed when they tell us a story that fits our worldview, a story that we intuitively embrace and then share with our friends. Think of the Dyson vacuum cleaner, or Fiji water, or the iPod.
But beware: If your stories are inauthentic, you cross the line from fib to fraud. Marketers fail when they are selfish and scurrilous, when they abuse the tools of their trade and make the world worse. Thats a lesson learned the hard way by telemarketers, cigarette companies, and sleazy politicians.
But for the rest of us, its time to embrace the power of the story. As Godin writes, Stories make it easier to understand the world. Stories are the only way we know to spread an idea. Marketers didnt invent storytelling. They just perfected it.”
Synopsis
Seth Godinand#8217;s three essential questions for every marketer: and#147;Whatand#8217;s your story?and#8221;
and#147;Will the people who need to hear this story believe it?and#8221;
and#147;Is it true?and#8221;
and#160; All marketers tell stories. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche is vastly superior to a $36,000 Volkswagen thatand#8217;s virtually the same car. We believe that $125 sneakers make our feet feel betterand#151;and look coolerand#151;than a $25 brand. And believing it makes it true.
and#160;
As Seth Godin showed in this controversial book, great marketers donand#8217;t talk about features or even benefits. Instead, they tell a storyand#151;a story we want to believe, whether itand#8217;s factual or not. In a world where most people have an infinite number of choices and no time to make them, every organization is a marketer, and all marketing is about telling stories.
and#160;
Marketers succeed when they tell us a story that fits our worldview, a story that we intuitively embrace and then share with our friends. Think of the Dyson vacuum cleaner, or Fiji water, or the iPod.
and#160;
But beware: If your stories are inauthentic, you cross the line from fib to fraud. Marketers fail when they are selfish and scurrilous, when they abuse the tools of their trade and make the world worse. Thatand#8217;s a lesson learned the hard way by telemarketers, cigarette companies, and sleazy politicians.
and#160;
But for the rest of us, itand#8217;s time to embrace the power of the story. As Godin writes, and#147;Stories make it easier to understand the world. Stories are the only way we know to spread an idea. Marketers didnand#8217;t invent storytelling. They just perfected it.and#8221;
Synopsis
In Seth Godinandrsquo;s most inspiring book, he challenges readers to find the courage to treat their work as a form of artand#160;Everyone knows that Icarusandrsquo;s father made him wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun; he ignored the warning and plunged to his doom. The lesson: Play it safe. Listen to the experts. It was the perfect propaganda for the industrial economy. What boss wouldnandrsquo;t want employees to believe that obedience and conformity are the keys to success?and#160;But we tend to forget that Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, because seawater would ruin the lift in his wings. Flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high, because it feels deceptively safe.and#160;The safety zone has moved. Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: Make art. Being an artist isnandrsquo;t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. Itandrsquo;s an attitude we can all adopt. Itandrsquo;s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things youandrsquo;re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card.and#160;Godin shows us how itandrsquo;s possible and convinces us why itandrsquo;s essential.
Synopsis
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Marcus Aurelius
We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it neednt be this way. There is a formula for success thats been followed by the icons of historyfrom John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobsa formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek.
These men and women were not exceptionally brilliant, lucky, or gifted. Their success came from timeless philosophical principles laid down by a Roman emperor who struggled to articulate a method for excellence in any and all situations.
This book reveals that formula for the first timeand shows us how we can turn our own adversity into advantage.
Synopsis
The get ready, get going guide to navigating career change and doing work you love New York Times bestselling author Jon Acuff has drawn millions of online fans who love his refreshing mix of humor, honesty, and wisdom about the world of work. Now he offers his most important book yet, a guide to making big career changesand#151;by choice or necessityand#151;and escaping the horrible feeling of being trapped in the wrong job.
Acuff finds it amazing that people spend more than eighteen years studying and preparing for college, but little or no time honing their careers between graduation and retirement. He offers an empowering tool he calls the Career Savings Account, which will change the way readers think about their skills, relationships, character, and work ethic. He also shows that if youand#8217;re on the wrong track, you already have what you need to change itand#151;even if your family and mortgage mean you canand#8217;t simply pick up and move for a new opportunity.
Throughout the book, Acuff features inspiring and funny true storiesand#151;not merely his own, but those of friends who restarted their careers after a layoff, an extended maternity leave, or simply the realization that they were suffering fifty weeks a year just to pay the bills and enjoy two weeks of vacation. Everyone can benefit from Do Over, from new graduates to fiftysomethings and beyond.
Synopsis
This is a manifesto about ideas. Big ideas, small ideas, and outlandish ideas. Ideas that innovate, ideas that disrupt markets, and especially ideas that irritate. More than ideas, though,
Mad Genius is about how ideas are born and the role they play in entrepreneurial thinking.
This is a manifesto for managers who want to become leaders and leaders, who want to blow up mediocrity. Because whether you work in a traditional business, a nonprofit service organization, or in the public sector, the best way to create fresh and innovative solutions is to think like an entrepreneur.
About the Author
RYAN HOLIDAY Ryan Holiday is a media strategist and prominent writer on strategy and business. After dropping out of college at nineteen to apprentice under Robert Greene, author of
The 48 Laws of Power, he went on to advise many bestselling authors and multiplatinum musicians. He served as director of marketing at American Apparel for many years, where his campaigns have been used as case studies by Twitter, YouTube, and Google and written about in
AdAge, the
New York Times, and
Fast Company.
His first book, Trust Me Im Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulatorwhich the Financial Times called an astonishing, disturbing book”was a debut bestseller and is now taught in colleges around the world. He currently lives in Austin, Texas, and writes at RyanHoliday.net and Thought Catalog and for the New York Observer.
Table of Contents
Small Is the New Big Warning
New Rules, New Winners
Introduction: You're Smarter Than They Think
AAA Auto Parts
Accountability
Acorns, Infected
Artists Care About The Art
Atkins
Benchmarks = Mediocrity
Billboards That Change
Bluegrass And The Cello Player
Bon Jovi And The Pirates
Branding Is Dead; Long Live Branding
Brand My Car, Brand Me
A Brief History Of Hard Work, Adjusted For Risk
Burgerville
Camp, Mickey Rooney, And Your Marketing Problem
Carly Never Had a Chance
CEO Blogs
Change Junkies
Check This Box
China (All That Tea!)
Christmas Card Spam
Clean Fire Trucks
Cliff Climbing (Please Don't Fall Off)
Cliffsnotes
Clinging To Your Job Title?
Clown, Are You A?
Clueless, We Are All
CMO, The Plight of The
Cogs
Commissions (How To Invest Them)
Competence
Cookies And The Technical Ignorance of Joe Surfer
Cookies (The Other Kind Of Cookie)
Cover, Judging A Book By Its
Criticism
Cuff Links
Cursive Versus Typing
Customer Service, A Modest Proposal For
Daylight Saving Time
Digital Divide, The New
Ding
Disrespect
Do Less
Don't Go To Business School
Doughnuts
Echo Chamber
Egomaniac
Enthusiasts
Fear Of Loss, Desire For Gain
Feedback, How To Get
Feedback, How To Give
Fifty States, Flamethrowers, And Sticky Traditions
Flack, As In PR Flack
Flipping The Funnel
Fluffernutter
Fog City Chocolate
Free Prize
Functionality
The Future Isn't What It Used To Be
Gmail
Grandmothers Understand The Net Now, Even
Grass (No, Not That Kind)
Guillotine Or Rack?
Heinlein
Hershey (No Kisses)
Hotels And The Cheap Fortune Cookie
I Changed My Mind Yesterday
Jetblue
Jobs For Purple Cows
A Job Strategy That Makes You A Loser
Journalists
Justin And Ashley
Later Is Not An Option
Local Max, How To Avoid The
Local Max, How The New Marketing Changes The
McDonald's Cocktail Party
"McJob"
Mail, The Check Is In The
"Maybe," Getting People Not To Say
Maybe-Proofing Your Organization
Measurement Increases Speed
Mediocrity
Minnesota Isn't Akron
Mission
Monopolies And The Death Of Scarcity
Mouse Flavor
Myths
Naming
Naming, The New Rules Of
The Needle, The Vise . . . And The Baby Rattle
Never, Do The
No!
No Such Thing As Side Effects
Only
Open Big
Oprah's Show?, How Much Would You Pay To Be On
Optimism
Opt-In
Ostrich
Oxymorons, Just About
Painfully Simple
Parsley
Permission
Pez And Lithuanian Language Records
Pigeons, Superstitious
Placebo Affect, The
Palne, There Are Two Ways To Catch A
Please Don't Make Me Feel So Stupid
Pledge Week
Podcast, Why I Don't Have A
Poilâne, Remembered
Polka
Progress?
Promotions
Prostitution
Provincetown Helmet Insight
Proximity Effect, The
Purple
Quality
Question, The Wrong
Recipe?, Did You Forget The
Reinforcement
Relax . . . , I Mean, Work On The Difficult
Respect And The Fuller Brush Man
Rifting
Right Thing, Doing The
Ringtones
RSS
Rules, Playing By The
Safe Is Risky
Sales
Salinger Knew Better
Satin Pillow, Visualizing The
Scarcity, There's A Shortage Of
Secrets To Success
Selfish Wifi, Razor Blades and Halloween
Sharp Needle, Big Haystack
Shortcuts
Short Words And The KMart Shoppers
Small Is The Big New
Small Is The New Big!
Socks
Soda (They Even Make Mashed-Potato Flavor)
SouvenirsReal Compared To What?
Soy Luck Club
SpectrumIs It Ours Or Theirs?
Stagnation
Start NowHurry!
Subscriptions
Talking Rabbit . . . So, A Rabbi, A Priest, And A
Technorati
Television Is The New Normal
They Don't Care, They Don't Have To
Thinking Big
Torchbearers
Tradition!
Trust And Respect, Courage And Leadership
The Two Obvious Secrets Of Every Service Business
Ubiquity
Ugly, The Web Is
USPS's Yellow Jersey
Verbs (Gerunds, Actually)
Video? Do You Act Differently When You're On
Viral?, What Makes An Idea
Waffles Are Always On The Menu
Wake-up Calls, A Wake-up Call About
Walls, Cliffs, And Bricks
Web Designers
What Did You Do During The 2000s?
What Then?
Who's Who?
Who You Know Doesn't Matter
Why (Ask Why?)
Woot.com And The Edge
Words
Working Class
Wrappers
Yak Shaving
You Are Your References
Your Very Own Printing Press
Zebra Cake, Famous
Some E-Books ( In Handy Printed Form)
Acknowledgments
Index